title: Soft, porous poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycotide) microcarriers designed for ex vivo studies and for transplantation of adherent cell types including progenitors.
abstract: Our laboratory is undertaking tissue engineering of liver using enriched liver progenitor cells. We report here our ongoing study to design biodegradable and biocompatible three-dimensional substratum supports of both natural and synthetic polymeric materials suitable to the adhesion, growth, and differentiation of adult and progenitor liver cells for their transplantation, and for the development of a bioartificial liver assist device. Porous biocompatible and biodegradable microcarriers of diameter 20-40 microm and 100-300 microm were prepared from (alpha-hydroxy) acid family of polymers. Human hepatoma cell line HepG2 and adult rodent liver cells were found to attach to collagen-coated surface of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycotide) microcarriers. HepG2 cells attached to the degradable microcarriers remained viable and underwent growth expansion, forming three-dimensional cell-degradable microcarrier colonies in culture. These cell-degradable microcarrier colonies may undergo further growth expansion, thus providing a viable approach for three-dimensional organogenesis of tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell & Molecular Physiology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7038, USA. axu@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002460:Cell Line; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008863:Microspheres; D011098:Polyglactin 910 / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D011098:Polyglactin 910