Using carbohydrate-based biomaterials as scaffolds to control human stem cell fate.

Given the important roles of carbohydrates in numerous signalling pathways, cell-cell interactions and cell-matrix interactions, a variety of scaffolds based on natural polysaccharides and glycoproteins that are mostly found in the native extracellular matrix (ECM) have been established and investigated as stem cell culture systems. Stem cells have been extensively used in cell therapy and tissue engineering, and the ability to create a suitable environment to direct stem cell behavior is critical for such endeavors. It is a great challenge to construct scaffolds that mimic the native "niche" of stem cells. The present review describes the current statuses and applications of several natural polysaccharide and glycoprotein scaffolds for use in tissue engineering. In the future, carbohydrate-based biomaterials may be used to create powerful scaffolds that can regulate the stem cell fate.