title: 3D hydrogel environment rejuvenates aged pericytes for skeletal muscle tissue engineering.
abstract: Skeletal muscle tissue engineering is a promising approach for the treatment of muscular disorders. However, the complex organization of muscle, combined with the difficulty in finding an appropriate source of regenerative cells and in providing an adequate blood supply to the engineered tissue, makes this a hard task to face. In the present work, we describe an innovative approach to rejuvenate adult skeletal muscle-derived pericytes (MP) based on the use of a PEG-based hydrogel scaffold. MP were isolated from young (piglet) and adult (boar) pigs to assess whether aging affects tissue regeneration efficiency. In vitro, MP from boars had similar morphology and colony forming capacity to piglet MP, but an impaired ability to form myotubes and capillary-like structures. However, the use of a PEG-based hydrogel to support adult MP significantly improved their myogenic differentiation and angiogenic potentials in vitro and in vivo. Thus, PEG-based hydrogel scaffolds may provide a progenitor cell "niche" that promotes skeletal muscle regeneration and blood vessel growth, and together with pericytes may be developed for use in regenerative applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fuoco
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sangalli
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vono
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Testa
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell Lab, Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sacchetti
authors.affiliation: Humanitas Clinical Research Center Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Michael V G
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Latronico
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernardini
authors.affiliation: Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Bristol Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Madeddu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome, Italy ; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cesareni
authors.affiliation: Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Bristol Bristol, UK ; Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seliktar
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy ; Cell Biology and Neurobiology Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR) Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzi
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy ; Cell Biology and Neurobiology Institute, National Research Council of Italy (CNR) Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bearzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Cannata
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spinetti
authors.affiliation: IRCCS MultiMedica Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gargioli
keywords: PEG-firbinogen; biomaterials; myogenic differentiation; perycite; skeletal muscle; stem cells; tissue engineering