Fig. 1.

Examining ECM deposition and cell aggregation via DexVS fibers and BMB peptide. (a) Schematics depicting culture conditions in non-sequestering bulk hydrogels embedded with non-sequestering DexVS fibers (control fibers), BMB-modified bulk hydrogels without DexVS fibers (BMB bulk), and non-sequestering bulk hydrogels with BMB-functionalized DexVS fibers (BMB fibers) in which BMB peptide will bind cell-secreted ECM proteins. Fibers were embedded in hydrogels at a 2% v/v density. (b) Representative brightfield images at 20× objective (scale bar 100 μm) and 5× objective (inset, scale bar 500 μm) after 0 and 18 days of culture. (c) Quantification of average aggregate cross-sectional area (−/− n = 6, BMB/NA n = 6, -/BMB n = 8), oocytes collected from each gel (n = 4 per condition), and oocyte diameters (oocytes pooled from 4 gels per condition, total oocytes: /- n = 53, BMB/NA n = 32, -/BMB n = 208) after 18 days of culture. (c) Representative confocal images of laminin, perlecan, and collagen type I (red) deposited by cells (nuclei, blue) in hydrogels with or without fibers (green) (scale bar 50 μm) with quantification of mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of ECM normalized to nuclear stain (Hoechst) intensity (n = 10 samples per ECM per condition).