title: Culturing fibroblasts in 3D human hair keratin hydrogels.
abstract: Human hair keratins are readily available, easy to extract, and eco-friendly materials with natural bioactivities. Keratin-based materials have been studied for applications such as cell culture substrates, internal hemostats for liver injury, and conduits for peripheral nerve repair. However, there are limited reports of using keratin-based 3D scaffolds for cell culture in vitro. Here, we describe the development of a 3D hair keratin hydrogel, which allows for living cell encapsulation under near physiological conditions. The convenience of making the hydrogels from keratin solutions in a simple and controllable manner is demonstrated, giving rise to constructs with tunable physical properties. This keratin hydrogel is comparable to collagen hydrogels in supporting the viability and proliferation of L929 murine fibroblasts. Notably, the keratin hydrogels contract less significantly as compared to the collagen hydrogels, over a 16-day culture period. In addition, preliminary in vivo studies in immunocompetent animals show mild acute host tissue response. These results collectively demonstrate the potential of cell-loaded keratin hydrogels as 3D cell culture systems, which may be developed for clinically relevant applications.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , N4.1, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
authors.forename: Shuai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhenxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Selin Ee Min
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Foo
authors.forename: Nguan Soon
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Weisi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kee Woei
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000637:transplantation; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D053564:Keratins, Hair-Specific / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012212:Rheology; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D013696:Temperature; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D053564:Keratins, Hair-Specific
keywords: 3D cell culture; cell compliance; fibroblast; hydrogel; keratin; tissue engineering