title: Effect of native and NH3 plasma-functionalized polymeric membranes on the gene expression profiles of primary hepatocytes.
abstract: Little is known about how cells respond to different biomaterials at the molecular level. Biomaterials could stimulate specific cellular responses at the molecular level, such as activation of signalling pathways that control gene activity involved in the maintenance, growth and functional regeneration of liver tissue in vitro. This aspect is an important step in liver tissue engineering. Currently, there are no data available concerning the modulation of cellular genomic response by using synthetic membranes in a bioartificial system. For the first time we investigated gene expression profiles of primary hepatocytes cultured on different substrates: collagen sandwich, native and NH(3) plasma-grafted PEEK-WC-PU membranes. Gene expression in cell suspension prepared after cell isolation was used as a control. Generally, microarray data revealed that the expression of the majority of genes remained unchanged compared to the control. Among 31 000 genes, 52 were significantly changed: 20 were upregulated and 32 downregulated. There were similar changes in gene expression of hepatocytes cultured in the membranes and collagen sandwich. However, some genes involved in the cell proliferation and functional metabolic pathways are more expressed in cells cultured on the membranes and especially on the functionalized ones. Both membranes sustained liver functions at the molecular level, demonstrating their suitability for the reconstruction of liver and as a toxicogenomic tool to predict the liver response to novel drugs.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biotechnology and Biomedicine, BBZ, University of Leipzig, Germany. sanja.pavlica@bbz.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Sanja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pavlica
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmitmeier
authors.forename: Pia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gloeckner
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piscioneri
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peinemann
authors.forename: Knut
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krohn
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegmund-Schulz
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laera
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Favia
authors.forename: Loredana De
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Bartolo
authors.forename: Augustinus
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bader
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D019149:Bioreactors; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D058626:Plasma Gases / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011108:Polymers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D058626:Plasma Gases; D011108:Polymers; D000641:Ammonia