title: A cell culture system for the structure and hydrogel properties of basement membranes; Application to capillary walls.
abstract: In specialized capillary beds such as the kidney glomerulus, the sheet-like structure of the basement membrane in conjunction with opposing monolayers of endothelium and epithelium form the functioning filtration unit of the kidney. Using a novel cross-linking method on a collagen substrate, we have created a novel hydrogel scaffold to substitute for the basement membrane. Using a simple casting method to create thin films of the hydrogel scaffold (1-5μm), the scaffolds were suitable for long-term static culture, and supported cell attachment and long term cell viability similar to a standard type I collagen substrate. Bulk diffusion and protein permeability of the hydrogel scaffold were evaluated, in addition to its use in a perfusion chamber where it withstood hydraulic pressures typical for glomerular capillaries. This system thus provided a suitable cell substrate for the co-culture of renal epithelial podocytes and endothelial cells in a device that replicates the geometry of the in vivo juxtaposition of the two cell types in relation to their basement membrane.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Rammelkamp Center for Education and Research, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44109.
authors.forename: Leslie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Bruggeman
authors.forename: Ryan P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Doan
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loftis
authors.forename: Aniq
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darr
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calabro