Fig. 1.

Hydrogel design to harness cell–matrix and cell–cell interactions. hMSCs were photoencapsulated within hydrogels that present epitopes for interaction with CD44 and CD168 receptors, as well as N-cadherin. Macromers were designed from hyaluronic acid (to bind to receptors), modified with methacrylates for photo cross-linking, and modified with peptides that either mediate N-cadherin binding or act as scrambled sequence controls. Fluorescent images of hMSCs immunostained for CD44, CD168, or N-cadherin (green) surface receptors and nuclei (blue). (Scale bars, 100 μm.)