NICHOID SUBSTRATE REGULATES MECHANOTRANSDUCTION GENES IN NEURAL STEM CELLS: WHOLE TRANSCRIPTOMIC APPROACH WITH BIOINFORMATIC ANALYSIS

In the field of regenerative medicine, 3D scaffolds are deeply investigated for their ability to mimic the physiological microenvironment and to guide cell fate [1]. 3D substrates create an artificial environment that allows to control in vitro the proliferative and differential potential and to obtain a cellular response more representative of the in vivo behavior with respect to the 2D cell culture conditions. The Nichoid, a 3D scaffold inspired by the natural staminal niche, which its geometry allows stem cells to self-organize inside the pores adhering to the internal grid [2, 3]. Moreover, the Nichoid has shown ability to stimulate the expression of pluripotency genes and potentiate the therapeutic potential of neural precursor cells (NPCs) [2, 3]. In this work, we aim to investigate the effect of the 3D scaffold Nichoid on the NPCs whole gene expression profile through a whole transcriptomic approach, highlighting significant changes in the mechanotransduction.