title: Photosynthetic biomaterials: a pathway towards autotrophic tissue engineering.
abstract: Engineered tissues are highly limited by poor vascularization in vivo, leading to hypoxia. In order to overcome this challenge, we propose the use of photosynthetic biomaterials to provide oxygen. Since photosynthesis is the original source of oxygen for living organisms, we suggest that this could be a novel approach to provide a constant source of oxygen supply independently of blood perfusion. In this study we demonstrate that bioartificial scaffolds can be loaded with a solution containing the photosynthetic microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, showing high biocompatibility and photosynthetic activity in vitro. Furthermore, when photosynthetic biomaterials were engrafted in a mouse full skin defect, we observed that the presence of the microalgae did not trigger a native immune response in the host. Moreover, the analyses showed that the algae survived for at least 5 days in vivo, generating chimeric tissues comprised of algae and murine cells. The results of this study represent a crucial step towards the establishment of autotrophic tissue engineering approaches and suggest the use of photosynthetic cells to treat a broad spectrum of hypoxic conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: Thilo Ludwig
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Schenck
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: Ursula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hopfner
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: Myra Noemi
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Chávez
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Günther
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Machens
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Somlai-Schweiger
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany; Handchirurgie, Plastische Chirurgie, Ästhetische Chirurgie der Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Germany.
authors.forename: Riccardo Enzo
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Giunta
authors.affiliation: Molekulare Pflanzenwissenschaften, Biozentrum Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra Viola
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Bohne
authors.affiliation: Molekulare Pflanzenwissenschaften, Biozentrum Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nickelsen
authors.affiliation: FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Miguel L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Allende
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Germany; FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Faculty of Science, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: tomasega@gmail.com.
authors.forename: José Tomás
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Egaña
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052818:Autotrophic Processes / Q000187:drug effects*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D007249:Inflammation / Q000473:pathology; D008819:Mice, Nude; D058086:Microalgae / Q000254:growth & development; D023421:Models, Animal; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials
keywords: Biomaterials; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; Hypoxia; Photosynthesis; Tissue engineering