Aging Donor-Derived Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Exhibit Reduced Reactive Oxygen Species Loads and Increased Differentiation Potential Following Serial Expansion on a PEG-PCL Copolymer Substrate

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have been widely studied for therapeutic development in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. They can be harvested from human donors via tissue biopsies, such as bone marrow aspiration, and cultured to reach clinically relevant cell numbers. However, an unmet issue lies in the fact that the hMSC donors for regenerative therapies are more likely to be of advanced age. Their stem cells are not as potent compared to those of young donors, and continue to lose healthy, stemness-related activities when the hMSCs are serially passaged in tissue culture plates. Here, we have developed a cheap, scalable, and effective copolymer film to culture hMSCs obtained from aged human donors over several passages without loss of reactive oxygen species (ROS) handling or differentiation capacity. Assays of cell morphology, reactive oxygen species load, and differentiation potential demonstrate the effectiveness of copolymer culture on reduction in senescence-related activities of aging donor-derived hMSCs that could hinder the therapeutic potential of autologous stem cell therapies.