The topographic features of an implant, which mechanically regulate cell behaviors and functions, are critical for the clinical success in tissue regeneration. How cells sense and respond to the topographical cues, e.g., interfacial roughness, is yet to be fully understood and even debatable. Here, the mechanotransduction and fate determination of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on surface roughness gradients are systematically studied. The broad range of topographical scales and high‐throughput imaging is achieved based on a catecholic polyglycerol coating fabricated by a one‐step‐tilted dip‐coating approach. It is revealed that the adhesion of MSCs is biphasically regulated by interfacial roughness. The cell mechanotransduction is investigated from focal adhesion to transcriptional activity, which explains that cellular response to interfacial roughness undergoes a direct force‐dependent mechanism. Moreover, the optimized roughness for promoting cell fate specification is explored.

Material surface topographic features have been shown to be crucial for tissue regeneration and surface treatment of implanted devices. Many biomaterials were investigated with respect to the response of cells on surface roughness. However, some conclusions even conflicted with each other due to the unclear interplay of surface topographic features and substrate elastic features as well as the lack of mechanistic studies. Herein, wide-scale surface roughness gradient hydrogels, integrating the surface roughness from nanoscale to microscale with controllable stiffness, were developed via soft lithography with precise surface morphology. Based on this promising platform, we systematically studied the mechanosensitive response of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to a broad range of roughnesses (200 nm to 1.2 μm for R q) and different substrate stiffnesses. We observed that MSCs responded to surface roughness in a stiffness-dependent manner by reorganizing the surface hierarchical structure. Surprisingly, the cellular mechanoresponse and osteogenesis were obviously enhanced on very soft hydrogels (3.8 kPa) with high surface roughness, which was comparable to or even better than that on smooth stiff substrates. These findings extend our understanding of the interactions between cells and biomaterials, highlighting an effective noninvasive approach to regulate stem cell fate via synergetic physical cues.

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Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma (C. deserticola, "Rou Cong Rong" in Chinese) is an officinal plant that grows in arid or semi-arid areas. The dried fleshy stem of C. deserticola has been generally used as a tonic in China and Japan for many years. Modern pharmacology studies have since demonstrated that C. deserticola possesses broad medicinal functions, especially for use in hormone regulation, aperient, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, antioxidative, anti-apoptotic, anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory, anti-fatigue activities and the promotion of bone formation. The phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs) presented in C. deserticola have been identified as the major active components. This review summarizes the up-to-date and comprehensive information on C. deserticola covering the aspects of the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology.

Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (mTLE-HS) is the most common type of focal epilepsy. The present study aimed to explore the expression and functions of exosomal microRNAs in mTLE-HS. A total of 50 microRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in mTLE-HS compared with healthy controls. Among them, 2 were increased and 48 were decreased. The 6 significant differentially expressed candidate microRNAs (miR-3613-5p, miR-4668-5p, miR-8071, miR-197-5p, miR-4322, and miR-6781-5p ) in exosome were validated. The bioinformatics analysis showed that the potential target genes of these microRNAs were involved in biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components. Similarly, these microRNAs also affected axon guidance, pathways in cancer, regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, focal adhesion, the calcium signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Among 6 candidate microRNAs, miR-8071 had the best diagnostic value for mTLE-HS with 83.33% sensitivity and 96.67% specificity, and was associated with seizure severity. This study indicated that exosomal microRNAs, may be regulators for the seizure development in mTLE-HS, and can be used as potential therapeutic targets and biomarker for diagnosis in mTLE-HS.