Modulating Mesenchymal Stem Cell Behavior Using Human Hair Keratin-Coated Surfaces

The study explored the use of human hair keratins as a coating on tissue culture polystyrene to improve the in vitro expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), which are promising for therapeutic uses but are limited by low in-body frequencies and expansion difficulties. The keratin coating led to a more homogeneous cell distribution and increased hydrophilicity. It was found to reduce variability in cell attachment between donors and either maintained or enhanced STRO-1 expression, a stem cell marker. This resulted in significant increases in colony-forming efficiency for hMSCs from both donors upon serial passaging. The findings suggest that human hair keratins, being abundant and non-animal in origin, could be a viable material to create a favorable microenvironment for enriching hMSCs ex vivo for clinical applications.