Biomimetic soft fibrous hydrogels for contractile and pharmacologically responsive smooth muscle.

ABSTRACT: The ability to assess changes in smooth muscle contractility and pharmacological responsiveness in normal or pathological-relevant vascular tissue environments is critical to enable vascular drug discovery. However, major challenges remain in both capturing the complexity of in vivo vascular remodeling and evaluating cell contractility in complex, tissue-like environments. Herein, we developed a biomimetic fibrous hydrogel with tunable structure, stiffness, and composition to resemble the native vascular tissue environment. This hydrogel platform was further combined with the combinatory protein array technology as well as advanced approaches to measure cell mechanics and contractility, thus permitting evaluation of smooth muscle functions in a variety of tissue-like microenvironments. Our

SUBMITTER: Ding Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6004336 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature