Giorgio Mattei, Chiara Magliaro, Andrea Pirone, Arti Ahluwalia
{"title":"Bioinspired liver scaffold design criteria.","authors":"Giorgio Mattei, Chiara Magliaro, Andrea Pirone, Arti Ahluwalia","doi":"10.1080/15476278.2018.1505137","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maintaining hepatic functional characteristics in-vitro is considered one of the main challenges in engineering liver tissue. As hepatocytes cultured ex-vivo are deprived of their native extracellular matrix (ECM) milieu, developing scaffolds that mimic the biomechanical and physicochemical properties of the native ECM is thought to be a promising approach for successful tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. On the basis that the decellularized liver matrix represents the ideal design template for engineering bioinspired hepatic scaffolds, to derive quantitative descriptors of liver ECM architecture, we characterised decellularised liver matrices in terms of their biochemical, viscoelastic and structural features along with porosity, permeability and wettability. Together, these data provide a unique set of quantitative design criteria which can be used to generate guidelines for fabricating biomaterial scaffolds for liver tissue engineering. As proof-of-concept, we investigated hepatic cell response to substrate viscoelasticity. On collagen hydrogels mimicking decellularised liver mechanics, cells showed superior morphology, higher viability and albumin secretion than on stiffer and less viscous substrates. Although scaffold properties are generally inspired by those of native tissues, our results indicate significant differences between the mechano-structural characteristics of untreated and decellularised hepatic tissue. Therefore, we suggest that design rules - such as mechanical properties and swelling behaviour - for engineering biomimetic scaffolds be re-examined through further studies on substrates matching the features of decellularized liver matrices.</p>","PeriodicalId":19596,"journal":{"name":"Organogenesis","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/15476278.2018.1505137","citationCount":"9","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Organogenesis","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15476278.2018.1505137","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2018/8/29 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 9
Abstract
Maintaining hepatic functional characteristics in-vitro is considered one of the main challenges in engineering liver tissue. As hepatocytes cultured ex-vivo are deprived of their native extracellular matrix (ECM) milieu, developing scaffolds that mimic the biomechanical and physicochemical properties of the native ECM is thought to be a promising approach for successful tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. On the basis that the decellularized liver matrix represents the ideal design template for engineering bioinspired hepatic scaffolds, to derive quantitative descriptors of liver ECM architecture, we characterised decellularised liver matrices in terms of their biochemical, viscoelastic and structural features along with porosity, permeability and wettability. Together, these data provide a unique set of quantitative design criteria which can be used to generate guidelines for fabricating biomaterial scaffolds for liver tissue engineering. As proof-of-concept, we investigated hepatic cell response to substrate viscoelasticity. On collagen hydrogels mimicking decellularised liver mechanics, cells showed superior morphology, higher viability and albumin secretion than on stiffer and less viscous substrates. Although scaffold properties are generally inspired by those of native tissues, our results indicate significant differences between the mechano-structural characteristics of untreated and decellularised hepatic tissue. Therefore, we suggest that design rules - such as mechanical properties and swelling behaviour - for engineering biomimetic scaffolds be re-examined through further studies on substrates matching the features of decellularized liver matrices.
期刊介绍:
Organogenesis is a peer-reviewed journal, available in print and online, that publishes significant advances on all aspects of organ development. The journal covers organogenesis in all multi-cellular organisms and also includes research into tissue engineering, artificial organs and organ substitutes.
The overriding criteria for publication in Organogenesis are originality, scientific merit and general interest. The audience of the journal consists primarily of researchers and advanced students of anatomy, developmental biology and tissue engineering.
The emphasis of the journal is on experimental papers (full-length and brief communications), but it will also publish reviews, hypotheses and commentaries. The Editors encourage the submission of addenda, which are essentially auto-commentaries on significant research recently published elsewhere with additional insights, new interpretations or speculations on a relevant topic. If you have interesting data or an original hypothesis about organ development or artificial organs, please send a pre-submission inquiry to the Editor-in-Chief. You will normally receive a reply within days. All manuscripts will be subjected to peer review, and accepted manuscripts will be posted to the electronic site of the journal immediately and will appear in print at the earliest opportunity thereafter.