Hydrogel-based microfluidics for vascular tissue engineering
Creators: name: Koroleva, Anastasia
name: Deiwick, Andrea
name: Nguyen, Alexander
name: Narayan, Roger
name: Shpichka, Anastasia
name: Kufelt, Olga
name: Kiyan, Roman
name: Bagratashvili, Victor N.
name: Timashev, Peter
name: Scheper, Thomas
name: Chichkov, Boris
Publisher: name: Berlin : De Gruyter
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: microfluidic hydrogels
subject: PEGylated fibrin
subject: tissue engineering
subject: vasculogenesis
subject: fibrin
subject: fibrinogen
subject: gelatinase A
subject: gelatinase B
subject: macrogol
subject: matrix metalloproteinase 14
subject: matrix metalloproteinase 16
subject: matrix metalloproteinase 19
subject: silicone
subject: thrombin
subject: adipose derived stem cell
subject: angiogenesis
subject: Article
subject: cell encapsulation
subject: chemical composition
subject: chemical modification
subject: coculture
subject: concentration (parameters)
subject: confocal microscopy
subject: controlled study
subject: covalent bond
subject: human
subject: human cell
subject: hydrogel
subject: immunofluorescence test
subject: infrared spectroscopy
subject: microfluidics
subject: PEGylation
subject: priority journal
subject: protein expression
subject: protein modification
subject: reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
subject: scanning electron microscopy
subject: umbilical vein endothelial cell
subject: vascular tissue
subject: Western blotting
subject: zymography
subject: Dewey Decimal Classification::600 | Technik::610 | Medizin, Gesundheit

description: In this work, we have explored 3-D co-culture of vasculogenic cells within a synthetically modified fibrin hydrogel. Fibrinogen was covalently linked with PEG-NHS in order to improve its degradability resistance and physico-optical properties. We have studied influences of the degree of protein PEGylation and the concentration of enzyme thrombin used for the gel preparation on cellular responses. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of prepared gels revealed that the degree of PEGylation and the concentration of thrombin strongly influenced microstructural characteristics of the protein hydrogel. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs), used as vasculogenic co-culture, could grow in 5:1 PEGylated fibrin gels prepared using 1:0.2 protein to thrombin ratio. This gel formulation supported hASCs and HUVECs spreading and the formation of cell extensions and cell-to-cell contacts. Expression of specific ECM proteins and vasculogenic process inherent cellular enzymatic activity were investigated by immunofluorescent staining, gelatin zymography, western blot and RT-PCR analysis. After evaluation of the optimal gel composition and PEGylation ratio, the hydrogel was utilized for investigation of vascular tube formation within a perfusable microfluidic system. The morphological development of this co-culture within a perfused hydrogel over 12 days led to the formation of interconnected HUVEC-hASC network. The demonstrated PEGylated fibrin microfluidic approach can be used for incorporating other cell types, thus representing a unique experimental platform for basic vascular tissue engineering and drug screening applications. © 2016 by De Gruyter.