title: Application of glutaraldehyde-crosslinked chitosan as a scaffold for hepatocyte attachment.
abstract: The effectiveness of chitosan, a biocompatible polymer derived by the deacetylation of chitin, as a scaffold of hepatocyte attachment, was examined. Since chitosan gel was too fragile to use for cell culture, its free amino groups were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde to increase its strength. Rat hepatocytes seeded onto glutaraldehyde-crosslinked chitosan (GA-chitosan) gel could stably attach to the surface, retaining its spherical form, the same as in vivo, and then release a very small amount of lactate dehydrogenase during the 5 d culture period. By contrast, hepatocytes on a collagen-coated surface spread flat, and they released much more lactate dehydrogenase than those on the GA-chitosan gel. Hepatocytes on GA-chitosan also retained higher urea synthesis activity, a liver-specific function, than those on the collagen-coated surface. These results indicate that chitosan is a promising biopolymer as a scaffold of hepatocyte attachment, which can be applied to an effective bioartificial liver support system.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, Kagawa University, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Michibayashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kurikawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizoguchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002449:Cell Aggregation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D048271:Chitosan; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D005976:Glutaral; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan; D005976:Glutaral