title: Genipin-crosslinked microcarriers mediating hepatocellular aggregates formation and functionalities.
abstract: In engineered regenerative medicine, various types of scaffolds have been customized to pursue the optimal environment for different types of therapeutic cells. In liver therapeutic research, hepatocytes require attachment to solid anchors for survival and proliferation before they could grow into cellular aggregates with enhanced functionalities. Among the various biomaterials scaffolds and vehicles, microspherical cell carriers are suited to these requirements. Individual spheres may provide two-dimensional (2D) cell-affinitive surfaces for cell adhesion and spreading; whereas multiple microcarriers may form three-dimensional (3D) matrices with inter-spherical space for cell expansion and multicellular aggregation. In this study, we culture human liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2) cells on genipin-crosslinked gelatin microspheres of two different sizes. Results suggest that both microcarriers support cell adhesion, proliferation, and spontaneous formation of hepatocellular aggregates, among which the spheres with bigger size (200-300 μm) seem more favorable than the smaller ones in terms of aggregate formation and liver specific functionalities. These findings suggest that the genipin-crosslinked microcarrier is a competent vehicle for liver cell delivery.
authors.affiliation: Division of Bioengineering, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ting Ting
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Chunming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sze Wei
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Png
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Dong-An
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002756:Cholagogues and Choleretics / Q000737:chemistry; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D005780:Gelatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D057889:Iridoid Glycosides / Q000737:chemistry*; D039823:Iridoids; D008863:Microspheres; D015394:Molecular Structure; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002756:Cholagogues and Choleretics; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D057889:Iridoid Glycosides; D039823:Iridoids; D005780:Gelatin; C007834:genipin