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To date, special interest has been paid to composite scaffolds based on polymers enriched with hydroxyapatite (HA). However, the role of HA containing different trace elements such as silicate in the structure of a polymer scaffold has not yet been fully explored. Here, we report the potential use of silicate-containing hydroxyapatite (SiHA) microparticles and microparticle aggregates in the predominant range from 2.23 to 12.40 μm in combination with polycaprolactone (PCL) as a hybrid scaffold with randomly oriented and well-aligned microfibers for regeneration of bone tissue. Chemical and mechanical properties of the developed 3D scaffolds were investigated with XRD, FTIR, EDX and tensile testing. Furthermore, the internal structure and surface morphology of the scaffolds were analyzed using synchrotron X-ray μCT and SEM. Upon culturing human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) on PCL-SiHA scaffolds, we found that both SiHA inclusion and microfiber orientation affected cell adhesion. The best hMSCs viability was revealed at 10 day for the PCL-SiHA scaffolds with well-aligned structure (~82%). It is expected that novel hybrid scaffolds of PCL will improve tissue ingrowth in vivo due to hydrophilic SiHA microparticles in combination with randomly oriented and well-aligned PCL microfibers, which mimic the structure of extracellular matrix of bone tissue.
Artificial adipose tissue (AT) constructs are urgently needed to treat severe wounds, to replace removed tissue, or for the use as in vitro model to screen for potential drugs or study metabolic pathways. The clinical translation of products is mostly prevented by the absence of a vascular component that would allow a sustainable maintenance and an extension of the construct to a relevant size. With this study, we aimed to evaluate the suitability of a novel material based on bacterial cellulose (CBM) on the defined adipogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and the maintenance of the received adipocytes (diffASCs) and human microvascular endothelial cells (mvECs) in mono- and coculture. A slight acceleration of adipogenic differentiation over regular tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) was seen on CBM under defined conditions, whereas on the maintenance of the generated adipocytes, comparable effects were detected for both materials. CBM facilitated the formation of vascular like structures in monoculture of mvECs, which was not observed on TCPS. By contrast, vascular-like structures were detected in CBM and TCPS in coculture by the presence of diffASCs. Concluding, CBM represents a promising material in vascularized AT engineering with the potential to speed up and simplify the in vitro setup of engineered products.
Critical size bone defects and non-union fractions are still challenging to treat. Cell-loaded bone substitutes have shown improved bone ingrowth and bone formation. However, a lack of methods for homogenously colonizing scaffolds limits the maximum volume of bone grafts. Additionally, therapy robustness is impaired by heterogeneous cell populations after graft generation. Our aim was to establish a technology for generating grafts with a size of 10.5 mm in diameter and 25 mm of height, and thus for grafts suited for treatment of critical size bone defects. Therefore, a novel tailor-made bioreactor system was developed, allowing standardized flow conditions in a porous poly(L-lactide co-caprolactone) material. Scaffolds were seeded with primary human mesenchymal stem cells derived from four different donors. In contrast to static experimental conditions, homogenous cell distributions were accomplished under dynamic culture. Additionally, culture in the bioreactor system allowed the induction of osteogenic lineage commitment after one week of culture without addition of soluble factors. This was demonstrated by quantitative analysis of calcification and gene expression markers related to osteogenic lineage. In conclusion, the novel bioreactor technology allows efficient and standardized conditions for generating bone substitutes that are suitable for the treatment of critical size defects in humans.
The development of in vitro adipose tissue constructs is highly desired to cope with the increased demand for substitutes to replace damaged soft tissue after high graded burns, deformities or tumor removal. To achieve clinically relevant dimensions, vascularization of soft tissue constructs becomes inevitable but still poses a challenge. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) represent a promising cell source for the setup of vascularized fatty tissue constructs as they can be differentiated into adipocytes and endothelial cells in vitro and are thereby available in sufficiently high cell numbers.
This review summarizes the currently known characteristics of ASCs and achievements in adipogenic and endothelial differentiation in vitro. Further, the interdependency of adipogenesis and angiogenesis based on the crosstalk of endothelial cells, stem cells and adipocytes is addressed at the molecular level. Finally, achievements and limitations of current co-culture conditions for the construction of vascularized adipose tissue are evaluated.
Blood vessel reconstruction is still an elusive goal for the development of in vitro models as well as artificial vascular grafts. In this study, we used a novel photo curable cytocompatible polyacrylate material (PA) for freeform generation of synthetic vessels. We applied stereolithography for the fabrication of arbitrary 3D tubular structures with total dimensions in the centimeter range, 300 µm wall thickness, inner diameters of 1 to 2 mm and defined pores with a constant diameter of approximately 100 µm or 200 µm. We established a rinsing protocol to remove remaining cytotoxic substances from the photo-cured PA and applied thio-modified heparin and RGDC-peptides to functionalize the PA surface for enhanced endothelial cell adhesion. A rotating seeding procedure was introduced to ensure homogenous endothelial monolayer formation at the inner luminal tube wall. We showed that endothelial cells stayed viable and adherent and aligned along the medium flow under fluid-flow conditions comparable to native capillaries. The combined technology approach comprising of freeform additive manufacturing (AM), biomimetic design, cytocompatible materials which are applicable to AM, and biofunctionalization of AM constructs has been introduced as BioRap® technology by the authors.
Though bioprinting is a forward-looking approach in bone tissue engineering, the development of bioinks which are on the one hand processable with the chosen printing technique, and on the other hand possess the relevant mechanical as well as osteoconductive features remains a challenge. In the present study, polymer solutions based on methacrylated gelatin and methacrylated hyaluronic acid modified with hydroxyapatite (HAp) particles (5 wt%) were prepared. Encapsulation of primary human adipose derived stem cells in the HAp-containing gels and culture for 28 d resulted in a storage moduli significantly increased to 126% ± 9.6% compared to the value on day 1 by the sole influence of the HAp. Additional use of osteogenic media components resulted in an increase of storage module up to 199% ± 27.8%. Similarly, the loss moduli was increased to 370% ± 122.1% under the influence of osteogenic media components and HAp. Those changes in rheological material characteristics indicate a distinct change in elastic and viscous hydrogel properties, and are attributed to extensive matrix production in the hydrogels by the encapsulated cells, what could also be proven by staining of bone matrix components like collagen I, fibronectin, alkaline phosphatase and osteopontin. When using the cell-laden polymer solutions as bioinks to build up relevant geometries, the ink showed excellent printability and the printed grid structure's integrity remained intact over a culture time of 28 d. Again, an intense matrix formation as well as upregulation of osteogenic markers by the encapsulated cells could be shown. In conclusion, we demonstrated that our HAp-containing bioinks and hydrogels on basis of methacrylated gelatin and hyaluronic acid are on the one hand highly suitable for the build up of relevant three-dimensional geometries with microextrusion bioprinting, and on the other hand exhibit a significant positive effect on bone matrix development and remodeling in the hydrogels, as indicated by rheological measurements and staining of bone components. This makes the developed composite hydrogels an excellent material for bone bioprinting approaches.
In vitro cultured cells produce a complex extracellular matrix (ECM) that remains intact after decellularization. The biological complexity derived from the variety of distinct ECM molecules makes these matrices ideal candidates for biomaterials. Biomaterials with the ability to guide cell function are a topic of high interest in biomaterial development. However, these matrices lack specific addressable functional groups, which are often required for their use as a biomaterial. Due to the biological complexity of the cell-derived ECM, it is a challenge to incorporate such functional groups without affecting the integrity of the biomolecules within the ECM. The azide-alkyne cycloaddition (click reaction, Huisgen-reaction) is an efficient and specific ligation reaction that is known to be biocompatible when strained alkynes are used to avoid the use of copper (I) as a catalyst. In our work, the ubiquitous modification of a fibroblast cell-derived ECM with azides was achieved through metabolic oligosaccharide engineering by adding the azide-modified monosaccharide Ac4GalNAz (1,3,4,6 tetra-O-acetyl-N-azidoacetylgalactosamine) to the cell culture medium. The resulting azide-modified network remained intact after removing the cells by lysis and the molecular structure of the ECM proteins was unimpaired after a gentle homogenization process. The biological composition was characterized in order to show that the functionalization does not impair the complexity and integrity of the ECM. The azides within this ‘‘clickECM” could be accessed by small molecules (such as an alkyne modified fluorophore) or by surface-bound cyclooctynes to achieve a covalent coating with clickECM.
In vitro models of human adipose tissue may serve as beneficial alternatives to animal models to study basic biological processes, identify new drug targets, and as soft tissue implants. With this approach, we aimed to evaluate adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) and mature adipocytes (MA) comparatively for the application in the in vitro setup of adipose tissue constructs to imitate native adipose tissue physiology. We used human primary MAs and human ASCs, differentiated for 14 days, and encapsulated them in collagen type I hydrogels to build up a three-dimensional (3D) adipose tissue model. The maintenance of the models was analyzed after seven days based on a viability staining. Further, the expression of the adipocyte specific protein perilipin A and the release of leptin and glycerol were evaluated. Gene transcription profiles of models based on dASCs and MAs were analyzed with regard to native adipose tissue. Compared to MAs, dASCs showed an immature differentiation state. Further, gene transcription of MAs suggests a behavior closer to native tissue in terms of angiogenesis, which supports MAs as preferred cell type. In contrast to native adipose tissue, genes of de novo lipogenesis and tissue remodeling were upregulated in the in vitro attempts.
Bone homeostasis is maintained by osteoblasts (bone formation) and osteoclasts (bone resorption). While there have been numerous studies investigating mesenchymal stem cells and their potential to differentiate into osteoblasts as well as their interaction with different bone substitute materials, there is only limited knowledge concerning in vitro generated osteoclasts. Due to the increasing development of degradable bone-grafting materials and the need of sophisticated in vitro test methods, it is essential to gain deeper insight into the process of osteoclastogenesis and the resorption functionality of human osteoclasts. Therefore, we focused on the comparison of osteoclastogenesis and resorption activity on tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) and bovine extracellular bone matrices (BMs). Cortical bone slices were used as two-dimensional (2D) substrates, whereas a thermally treated cancellous bone matrix was used for three-dimensional (3D) experiments. We isolated primary human monocytes and induced osteoclastogenesis by medium supplementation. Subsequently, the expression of the vitronectin receptor (αVβ3) and cathepsin K as well as the characteristic actin formation on TCPS and the two BMs were examined. The cell area of human osteoclasts was analyzed on TCPS and on BMs, whereas significantly larger osteoclasts could be detected on BMs. Additionally, we compared the diameter of the sealing zones with the measured diameter of the resorption pits on the BMs and revealed similar diameters of the sealing zones and the resorption pits. We conclude that using TCPS as culture substrate does not affect the expression of osteoclast-specific markers. The analysis of resorption activity can successfully be conducted on cortical as well as on cancellous bone matrices. For new in vitro test systems concerning bone resorption, we suggest the establishment of a 2D assay for high throughput screening of new degradable bone substitute materials with osteoclasts.
Completely defined co-culture of adipogenic differentiated ASCs and microvascular endothelial cells
(2018)
Vascularized adipose tissue models are in high demand as alternatives to animal models to elucidate the mechanisms of widespread diseases, screen for new drugs or assess drug safety levels. Animal-derived sera such as fetal bovine serum (FBS), which are commonly used in these models, are associated with ethical concerns, risk of contaminations and inconsistencies of their composition and impact on cells. In this study, we developed a serum-free, defined co culture medium and implemented it in an adipocyte/endothelial cell (EC) co culture model.
Human adipose-derived stem cells were differentiated under defined conditions (diffASCs) and, like human microvascular ECs (mvECs), cultured in a defined co culture medium in mono-, indirect or direct co-culture for 14 days. The defined co-culture medium was superior when compared to mono-culture media and facilitated the functional maintenance and maturation of diffASCs including perilipin A expression, lipid accumulation, and also glycerol and leptin release. The medium also allowed mvEC maintenance, confirmed by the expression of CD31 and von Willebrand factor (vWF), and by acetylated low density lipoprotein (acLDL) uptake. Thereby, mvECs showed strong dependence on EC-specific factors. Additionally, mvECs formed vascular structures in direct co-culture with diffASCs.
The completely defined co-culture system allows for the serum-free culture of adipocyte/EC co-cultures and thereby represents a valuable and ethically acceptable tool for the culture and study of vascularized adipose tissue models.
