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Elastic serum-albumin based hydrogels: mechanism of formation and application in cardiac tissue engineering.

ABSTRACT: Hydrogels are promising materials for mimicking the extra-cellular environment. Here, we present a simple methodology for the formation of a free-standing viscoelastic hydrogel from the abundant and low cost protein serum albumin. We show that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel exhibit a complicated behaviour as a function of the weight fraction of the protein component. We further use X-ray scattering to shed light on the mechanism of gelation from the formation of a fibrillary network at low weight fractions to interconnected aggregates at higher weight fractions. Given the match between our hydrogel elasticity and that of the myocardium, we investigated its potential for supporting cardiac cells in vitro. Interestingly, these hydrogels support the formation of several layers of myocytes and significantly promote the maintenance of a native-like gene expression profile compared to those cultured on glass. When confronted with a multicellular ventricular cell preparation, the hydrogels can support macroscopically contracting cardiac-like tissues with a distinct cell arrangement, and form mm-long vascular-like structures. We envisage that our simple approach for the formation of an elastic substrate from an abundant protein makes the hydrogel a compelling biomedical material candidate for a wide range of cell types.

SUBMITTER: Amdursky N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6166857 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Elastic serum-albumin based hydrogels: mechanism of formation and application in cardiac tissue engineering.

Amdursky Nadav N Mazo Manuel M MM Thomas Michael R MR Humphrey Eleanor J EJ Puetzer Jennifer L JL St-Pierre Jean-Philippe JP Skaalure Stacey C SC Richardson Robert M RM Terracciano Cesare M CM Stevens Molly M MM

Journal of materials chemistry. B 20180823 35

Hydrogels are promising materials for mimicking the extra-cellular environment. Here, we present a simple methodology for the formation of a free-standing viscoelastic hydrogel from the abundant and low cost protein serum albumin. We show that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel exhibit a complicated behaviour as a function of the weight fraction of the protein component. We further use X-ray scattering to shed light on the mechanism of gelation from the formation of a fibrillary network a ...[more]

PMID: 30283632

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Project description:Natural polymer hydrogels are used ubiquitously as scaffold materials for cardiac tissue engineering as well as for soft tissue engineering more broadly because of FDA approval, minimal immunogenicity, and well-defined physiological clearance pathways. However, the relationships between natural polymer hydrogels and resident cell populations in directing the development of engineered tissues are poorly defined. This interaction is of particular concern for tissues prepared with iPSC-derived cell populations, in which population purity and batch-to-batch variability become additional critical factors to consider. Herein, the design space for a blended fibrin and collagen scaffold is characterized for applications in creating engineered myocardium with human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Stiffness values of the acellular hydrogel formulations approach those of native myocardium in compression, but deviate significantly in tension when compared to rat myocardium in both transverse and longitudinal fiber orientations. A response surface methodology approach to understanding the relationship between collagen concentration, fibrin concentration, seeding density, and cardiac purity found a statistically significant predictive model across three repeated studies that confirms that all of these factors contribute to tissue compaction. In these constructs, increased fibrin concentration and seeding density were each associated with increased compaction, while increased collagen concentration was associated with decreased compaction. Both the lowest (24.4% cTnT+) and highest (60.2% cTnT+) cardiomyocyte purities evaluated were associated with decreased compaction, whereas the greatest compaction was predicted to occur in constructs prepared with a 40-50% cTnT+ population. Constructs prepared with purified cardiomyocytes (≥75.5% cTnT+) compacted and formed syncytia well, although increased fibrin concentration in these groups was associated with decreased compaction, a reversal of the trend observed in unpurified cardiomyocytes. This study demonstrates an analytical approach to understanding cell-scaffold interactions in engineered tissues and provides a foundation for the development of more sophisticated and customized scaffold platforms for human cardiac tissue engineering.

Dataset Information

Elastic serum-albumin based hydrogels: mechanism of formation and application in cardiac tissue engineering.

Publications

Elastic serum-albumin based hydrogels: mechanism of formation and application in cardiac tissue engineering.

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