title: Effects of permeability and living space on cell fate and neo-tissue development in hydrogel-based scaffolds: a study with cartilaginous model.
abstract: One bottleneck in tissue regeneration with hydrogel scaffolds is the limited understanding of the crucial factors for controlling hydrogel's physical microenvironments to regulate cell fate. Here, the effects of permeability and living space of hydrogels on encapsulated cells' behavior were evaluated, respectively. Three model hydrogel-based constructs are fabricated by using photo-crosslinkable hyaluronic acid as precursor and chondrocytes as model cell type. The better permeable hydrogels facilitate better cell viability and rapid proliferation, which lead to increased production of extracellular matrix (ECM), e.g. collagen, glycosaminoglycan. By prolonged culture, nano-sized hydrogel networks inhibit neo-tissue development, and the presence of macro-porous living spaces significantly enhance ECM deposition via forming larger cell clusters and eventually induce formation of scaffold-free neo-tissue islets. The results of this work demonstrate that the manipulation and optimization of hydrogel microenvironments, namely permeability and living space, are crucial to direct cell fate and neo-tissue formation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Bioengineering, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637457.
authors.forename: Changjiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Dong-An
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D002356:Cartilage / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000187:drug effects; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D010539:Permeability / Q000187:drug effects*; D012038:Regeneration; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D003094:Collagen
keywords: cellular environment; chondrocyte; hydrogel scaffold; tissue engineering