title: Injectable polyethylene glycol-fibrinogen hydrogel adjuvant improves survival and differentiation of transplanted mesoangioblasts in acute and chronic skeletal-muscle degeneration.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cell-transplantation therapies have attracted attention as treatments for skeletal-muscle disorders; however, such research has been severely limited by poor cell survival. Tissue engineering offers a potential solution to this problem by providing biomaterial adjuvants that improve survival and engraftment of donor cells.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, we investigated the use of intra-muscular transplantation of mesoangioblasts (vessel-associated progenitor cells), delivered with an injectable hydrogel biomaterial directly into the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of acutely injured or dystrophic mice. The hydrogel cell carrier, made from a polyethylene glycol-fibrinogen (PF) matrix, is polymerized in situ together with mesoangioblasts to form a resorbable cellularized implant.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mice treated with PF and mesoangioblasts showed enhanced cell engraftment as a result of increased survival and differentiation compared with the same cell population injected in aqueous saline solution.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both PF and mesoangioblasts are currently undergoing separate clinical trials: their combined use may increase chances of efficacy for localized disorders of skeletal muscle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata Rome University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuoco
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata Rome University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Lavinia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Salvatori
authors.affiliation: Division of Regenerative Medicine, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biondo
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Keren
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shapira-Schweitzer
authors.affiliation: Division of Regenerative Medicine, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santoleri
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antonini
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata Rome University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernardini
authors.affiliation: Division of Regenerative Medicine, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.|Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Francesco Saverio
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Tedesco
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata Rome University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cannata
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seliktar
authors.affiliation: Division of Regenerative Medicine, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.|Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL, London, UK.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cossu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Tor Vergata Rome University, Rome, Italy.|IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gargioli