title: Smooth muscle tissue engineering in crosslinked electrospun gelatin scaffolds.
abstract: Crosslinked, multi-layer electrospun gelatin fiber scaffolds with generally ±45 degree fiber orientation have been used to grow human umbilical vein smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs) to create a vascular tunica media graft. Scaffolds of different fiber diameter (2-5 μm in wet state), pore size, and porosity (16-21% in wet state) were assessed in terms of cell adherence and viability, cell proliferation, and migration in both in-plane and transverse directions through the scaffold as a function of time under static cell culture conditions. HUVSMC cell viability reached between 80 and 92% for all scaffolds after 9 days in culture. HUVSMCs adhered, elongated, and orientated in the fiber direction, and migrated through a scaffold thickness of 200-235 μm 9 days post-seeding under static conditions. The best scaffold was then used to assess the tissue engineering of HUVSMCs under dynamic conditions for a rotating, cell seeded, tubular scaffold in the bioreactor containing the culture medium. Dynamic conditions almost doubled the rate of cell proliferation through the scaffold, forming full tissue throughout a scaffold of 250-300 μm thickness 6 days post-seeding.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Group, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yahya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Elsayed
authors.affiliation: Advanced Materials Group, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Constantina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lekakou
authors.affiliation: Centre of Biomedical Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fatima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Labeed
authors.affiliation: National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LW, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tomlins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005780:Gelatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D034421:Sus scrofa; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D011137:Polystyrenes; D005780:Gelatin
keywords: cell migration; smooth muscle cells; tissue engineering; tunica media; vascular graft