A synthetic xeno-free extracellular matrix surrogate supports robust human induced pluripotent stem cell maintenance and multilineage differentiation
- 1Translational Center Regenerative Therapies TLC-RT, Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC
Abstract
Animal-derived surface coatings present the gold standard in stem cell culture. However, they come with major drawbacks such as lot-to-lot inconsistency and an ethically problematic production. Approaches to develop synthetic coating alternatives have largely failed to recapitulate biological functions essential to PSC-self renewal and differentiation. In this study, we have investigated the suitability of a fully synthetic, chemically defined extracellular matrix-mimicking coating named BIOINSTRUCT for hiPSC culture. BIOINSTRUCT was employed during maintenance culture of IMR90-4 cells, as well as directed differentiation of HIHCNi008-A, ACTN2-GFP, and UKKI-011-A cells. BIOINSTRUCT preserved hiPSC characteristics over the experimental period of 10 passages similar to Matrigel. Spontaneous differentiation resulted in the formation of ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal derivatives, confirming the retention of pluripotency. Directed differentiation on BIOINSTRUCT enabled the generation of neuronal, cardiac and pancreatic endocrine cells. Altogether, our data underscore BIOINSTRUCT as a promising alternative to animal-derived extracellular matrix coatings.
Related
- Matrix Viscoelasticity Regulates the Stemness and Multilineage differentiation of Primary Neural Progenitor-Stem Cells in 3D
- Differentiation of KISS1-Expressing Cells from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: Many Roads To Rome
- Multilayered extracellular matrix derived scaffolds direct progenitor cell differentiation in vitro and osteochondral-tissue formation in vivo.
- ISL1 is required for the terminal differentiation and maintenance of Starburst Amacrine Cells
- Tendon-derived injectable bio-instructive gel augments tenogenic differentiation of iMSC-SCX cells and extracellular matrix remodeling
BibTeX
@misc{berger2026synthetic,
title = {{A synthetic xeno-free extracellular matrix surrogate supports robust human induced pluripotent stem cell maintenance and multilineage differentiation}},
author = {C. Berger and L. Wiora and T. L. Holmes and F. Walz and C. Sauter and L. Baraban and J. Schwebler and G. Beer and S. Lauke and J. Keller and M. Kraft and Y. Schelling and K. Cheung and E. Nurnberg and S. Al Muthafer and S. Segeletz and C. Neser and J. G. W. Smith and S. Hauser and D. Zdzieblo},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.07.757018},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757018v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A synthetic xeno-free extracellular matrix surrogate supports robust human induced pluripotent stem cell maintenance and multilineage differentiation
AU - C. Berger
AU - L. Wiora
AU - T. L. Holmes
AU - F. Walz
AU - C. Sauter
AU - L. Baraban
AU - J. Schwebler
AU - G. Beer
AU - S. Lauke
AU - J. Keller
AU - M. Kraft
AU - Y. Schelling
AU - K. Cheung
AU - E. Nurnberg
AU - S. Al Muthafer
AU - S. Segeletz
AU - C. Neser
AU - J. G. W. Smith
AU - S. Hauser
AU - D. Zdzieblo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.07.757018
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757018v1
AB - Animal-derived surface coatings present the gold standard in stem cell culture. However, they come with major drawbacks such as lot-to-lot inconsistency and an ethically problematic production. Approaches to develop synthetic coating alternatives have largely failed to recapitulate biological functions essential to PSC-self renewal and differentiation. In this study, we have investigated the suitability of a fully synthetic, chemically defined extracellular matrix-mimicking coating named BIOINSTRUCT for hiPSC culture. BIOINSTRUCT was employed during maintenance culture of IMR90-4 cells, as well as directed differentiation of HIHCNi008-A, ACTN2-GFP, and UKKI-011-A cells. BIOINSTRUCT preserved hiPSC characteristics over the experimental period of 10 passages similar to Matrigel. Spontaneous differentiation resulted in the formation of ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal derivatives, confirming the retention of pluripotency. Directed differentiation on BIOINSTRUCT enabled the generation of neuronal, cardiac and pancreatic endocrine cells. Altogether, our data underscore BIOINSTRUCT as a promising alternative to animal-derived extracellular matrix coatings.
ER -