title: Biodegradable honeycomb collagen scaffold for dermal tissue engineering.
abstract: Tissue engineering requires a mechanically stable, biocompatible, and biodegradable scaffold that permits cell adherence and proliferation, allows preservation of cell-specific properties, and suitable for surgical implantations. In this study, honeycomb collagen sheet was used for three-dimensional (3D) cultures of human skin fibroblasts and characterized as an effective and suitable scaffold for dermal tissue engineering. About 1-mm-thick honeycomb collagen sheets, prepared from bovine dermal atelocollagen, cross-linked by UV-irradiation, and sterilized by heat, were placed on the proliferating fibroblasts on day 3 of the culture. The cells attached quickly to the collagen scaffold, proliferated inside the honeycomb pores, and formed a structure similar to dermis within 60 days. On day 60, total cellular DNA content of the 3D cultures was 12-fold higher when compared with the 2D control cultures without the scaffold. Measurement of procollagen type I in the media demonstrated a 20-fold increase. Scanning electron microscopy of the 3D cultures showed a well-formed structure similar to dermis and biodegradation of the honeycomb collagen scaffold. Our study proved that honeycomb collagen sheet is a mechanically stable, biocompatible and biodegradable scaffold for dermal tissue engineering, and also potentially useful for other cell-based therapies and tissue engineering applications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Tissue Engineering, Koken Bioscience Institute, 2-13-10 Ukima, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-0051, Japan. jgeorge40@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Onodera
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002417:Cattle; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D048430:Cell Shape; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; C059821:atelocollagen; D003094:Collagen