PEG-Collagen Interpenetrating Networks Support Enhanced Vasculogenic Self-Assembly and Impact Cell-Mediated Remodeling.

ABSTRACT: The biophysical cues of natural and synthetic hydrogels, including stiffness and the rate of cell-mediated degradation, are often tuned to better understand how to form vessel networks in tissue constructs. Interpenetrating networks (IPN) combine the bioactivity and fibrillar architecture of naturally derived hydrogels and the tunability of synthetic hydrogels. We developed a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-collagen (type I) IPN to investigate the interactive effects of stiffness, the rate of proteolytic degradation, and a fibrillar collagen network on the formation of microvascular networks and cell-mediated hydrogel remodeling. Endothelial cells and fibroblasts were encapsulated in the PEG-collagen IPN, wherein the initial stiffness and rate of degradation were controlled by matrix metallopr

SUBMITTER: McCoy AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12659784 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature