Controlling the orientation of a cell-synthesized extracellular matrix by using engineered gelatin-based building blocks

Biomater Sci. 2018 Jul 24;6(8):2084-2091. doi: 10.1039/c7bm01093a.

Abstract

In tissue engineering there is growing interest in fabricating highly engineered platforms designed to instruct cells towards the synthesis of tissues that reproduce their natural counterpart. In this context, a fundamental factor to take into account is the control over the final tissue orientation, especially for what concerns the replication of load-bearing tissues whose functions are strictly related to their microstructural organization. Starting from this point, in this work we have engineered a gelatin-based hydrogel in order to be patterned by 2-photon polymerization (2PP) lithography for the fabrication of instructive free standing building blocks designed to produce anisotropic collagen-based μtissues. Biological results clearly highlighted the strong relationship between μtissue orientation and such topographies, which resulted in a crucial element in the production of highly anisotropic μtissues.

MeSH terms

  • Cells, Cultured
  • Extracellular Matrix / chemistry
  • Extracellular Matrix / drug effects*
  • Extracellular Matrix / metabolism
  • Fibroblasts / cytology
  • Fibroblasts / drug effects*
  • Gelatin / chemical synthesis
  • Gelatin / chemistry
  • Gelatin / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / chemical synthesis
  • Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / chemistry
  • Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / pharmacology
  • Polymerization / drug effects
  • Software
  • Tissue Engineering*

Substances

  • Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate
  • Gelatin