Dextran sulfate prevents excess aggregation of human pluripotent stem cells in 3D culture by inhibiting ICAM1 expression coupled with down-regulating E-cadherin through activating the Wnt signaling pathway.

Our results demonstrated that DS played an important role in controlling the size of hPSC aggregates in 3D suspension culture by inhibiting the expression of ICAM1 coupled with the down-regulation of E-cad through the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway. These results represent a significant step toward developing the expansion of hPSCs under 3D suspension condition in large-scale cultures.