Typical methods of creating specialized cell types from stem cells employ growth factors. However, growth factors can generate unwanted tissue growth — including tumors — when used in the human body.
Exploring alternatives to protein-based growth factors, a team led by Akhilesh Gaharwar, an assistant professor in Texas A&M Univ.’s Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, recently demonstrated how a new class of two-dimensional (2D) clay nanoparticles, called nanosilicates, can direct stem cells to become cartilage and bone cells.
Gaharwar and his colleagues investigated the interactions of ultrathin 2D nanomaterials — including layered nanoclays, graphene, and transition metal diachalcogenides and oxides — with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). They observed widespread alteration of genes when the hMSCs were exposed to the 2D nanomaterials, and they found that more than 4,000 genes were differentially expressed after being exposed.
According to Gaharwar, an RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) testing regime was the key analytical mechanism to understanding the transcriptome-level activity of cell attachment and subsequent gene expression. “RNA-seq provides a holistic view of all genetic changes to...
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