Abstract
Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches use biomaterials in combination with cells to regenerate lost functions of tissues and organs to prevent organ transplantation. However, most of the current strategies fail in mimicking the tissue’s extracellular matrix properties. In order to mimic native tissue conditions, we developed cell-derived matrix (CDM) microtissues (MT). Our methodology uses poly-lactic acid (PLA) and Cultispher® S microcarriers’ (MCs’) as scaffold templates, which are seeded with rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBM-MSCs). The scaffold template allows cells to generate an extracellular matrix, which is then extracted for downstream use. The newly formed CDM provides cells with a complex physical (MT architecture) and biochemical (deposited ECM proteins) environment, also showing spontaneous angiogenic potential. Our results suggest that MTs generated from the combination of these two MCs (mixed MTs) are excellent candidates for tissue vascularization. Overall, this study provides a methodology for in-house fabrication of microtissues with angiogenic potential for downstream use in various tissue regenerative strategies.
Highlights
In order to successfully mimic native tissues ex-vivo to restore or replace injured ones, great efforts have been made towards the development of modular tissue engineering (TE), where microstructural functional units are assembled to create complex tissue constructs [1]
In order to dismiss unspecific attachments, we introduced the concept of MC colonization rate (MCCR) as the number of MCs with three or more cells attached to them, divided by the total amount of MCs (Equation (1))
The ECM secretion can be directly enhanced by the 3D architecture of scaffolds [38]
Summary
In order to successfully mimic native tissues ex-vivo to restore or replace injured ones, great efforts have been made towards the development of modular tissue engineering (TE), where microstructural functional units are assembled to create complex tissue constructs [1]. From these strategies, cell-laden MCs represent a promising option in bottom-up TE applications. An example of commercially available MC is crosslinked gelatin Cultispher® S, which has been used to induce bone regeneration [18,19,20,21,22]. Another promising alternative to decellularized tissues/organs is the in vitro production of cell-secreted ECM scaffolds, the so-called cell-derived extracellular matrix (CDM) [23,24]. CDMs present customizable features when these are combined with bioactive biomaterials [24]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
