| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/J013854/1 |
| Title: |
Self assembling peptide hydrogels for human stem cell culture |
| Principal Investigator: |
Merry, Professor C |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Materials |
| Organisation: |
University of Manchester, The |
| Scheme: |
Follow on Fund |
| Starts: |
01 April 2012 |
Ends: |
31 August 2013 |
Value (£): |
149,200
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Cells |
Materials Characterisation |
| Tissue engineering |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Healthcare |
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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18 Oct 2011
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Follow-on Fund
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Announced
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
The majority of cell culture in vitro takes place on 2D surfaces. This is far removed from the complex 3D environment in which cells naturally reside. An improved understanding of the mechanisms which underlie processes such as cell proliferation, protection from cell death and differentiation of stem cells implicates 3D cell growth as being an important factor in regulating cell behaviour. There is an unmet need in the regenerative medicine, cell and tissue engineering and toxicity screening fields for robust, animal component-free methods for the 3D culture of stem cells. Stem cells have tremendous potential as a source of cells from which cells and tissues needed for transplantation could be derived. This is particularly the case when considering diseases for which there is no current cure (e.g. Parkinson's disease and diabetes). However, there are a number of significant hurdles to be overcome before stem cells can be used for these applications, including the development of methods to allow the large scale expansion of stem cells in culture and protocols for their effective and efficient differentiation to generate cells and tissues of interest.
Hydrogels have emerged as an attractive environment in which to culture cells in 3D. Hydrogels share many qualities with natural tissue and can be used for both the expansion of stem cells and as means of supporting their directed differentiation. There are a number of hydrogels already on the market for in vitro use and some are in clinical trials or already in use in patients for a variety of applications. The peptide hydrogels we will use in this project have specific characteristics which set them apart from these competitors. The peptide monomers used to create the hydrogel are simple, short and relatively cheap to manufacture. The simple eight amino acid building blocks (constructed of alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues) are fully synthetic and free of animal products and they can easily be modified to contain bioactive motifs which influence cell behaviour. We have therefore developed a protocol which allows the use of these simple peptide hydrogels for the culture of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). The mESCs had excellent viability within the gels and retained their stem cell characteristics. Cells can be serially passaged in the gels, recovering intact cells from one gel before re-seeding them into a new gel. Importantly, the protocol we have developed ensures that the gels are reproducible and transferable to any lab with a standard skill set. Preliminary experiments suggest that the gels can also be used for the 3D culture of human ES cells (hESCs) thereby transforming a research tool to a possible answer to the unmet need detailed above. The mechanical properties of the gels can be altered to make them similar to the various tissue environments found within the body and the gels have the additional quality of being injectable. These are characteristics which extend their potential application, but are not something we will address in the current project.
The project will focus on providing the proof-of-concept data we need to make our technology attractive to industrial partners to enable us to move towards commercial exploitation of our research. In addition, we will work closely with clinicians and other end-users of the technology to ensure that we are developing gels with the required characteristics for a wide variety of applications. On completion of the project we will be in a strong position to secure support from translational funders (for example MRC DPFS, NIHR i4i), venture capital or seed funds and will have an in-depth knowledge of the possible market opportunities and regulatory landscape for our products.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.man.ac.uk |