title: Biomaterials patterned with discontinuous microwalls for vascular smooth muscle cell culture: biodegradable small diameter vascular grafts and stable cell culture substrates.
abstract: The medial layer of small diameter blood vessels contains circumferentially aligned vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMC) that possess contractile phenotype. In tissue-engineered constructs, these cellular characteristics are usually achieved by seeding planar scaffolds with vSMC, rolling the cell-laden scaffold into a tubular structure, and maturing the construct in a pulsatile bioreactor, a lengthy process that can take up to two months. During the maturation phase, the cells circumferentially orient, their contractile protein expression increases, and they obtain a contractile phenotype. Generating cell culture platforms that enable the rapid production of directionally oriented vSMC with increased contractile protein expression would be a major step forward for blood vessel tissue engineering and would greatly facilitate the in vitro study of vSMC biology. Previously, we developed a micropatterned cell culture surface that promotes orientation and contractile protein expression of vSMC. Herein, we explore two potential applications of this technology. First, we fabricate tubular and biodegradable scaffolds that possess the micropatterning on their exterior surface. When vSMC are seeded on these scaffolds, they initially proliferate in order to fill the microchannels and as confluence is reached the cells align in the direction of the micropatterning resulting in a biodegradable scaffold that is inhabited by circumferentially aligned vSMC within a week. Second, we illustrate that we can generate biostable cell culture surfaces that allow the in vitro study of the cells in a more contractile state. Specifically, we explore contractile protein expression of cells cultured on the micropatterned surfaces with the addition of soluble transforming growth factor beta one (TGFβ1).
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , University of Melbourne , Parkville , Australia.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Heath
authors.affiliation: b School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.
authors.forename: Gavin C W
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: b School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: b School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.
authors.forename: Yin Fun
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.affiliation: b School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: b School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering , Nanyang Technological University , Singapore.
authors.forename: Mary B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Chan-Park
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry; D013718:Tensile Strength; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D012828:Silicones
keywords: contractile phenotype; microchannels; synthetic phenotype; transforming growth factor beta one (TGFβ1); tunica media; vSMC