Human U937 monocyte behavior and protein expression on various formulations of three‐dimensional fibrin clots

Abstract

ABSTRACTFibrin sealant products such as Tisseel® (Baxter Healthcare Corporation) are used in hemostasis and tissue sealing. Tisseel® consists of two components, a fibrinogen‐containing component and thrombin, which when mixed together form a fibrin clot. There is an interest in delivering monocytes to the wound because they are known to play an important role in the wound‐healing process. Therefore, we were interested in finding the best fibrin formulation for delivering monocytes by examining monocyte behavior on 3D‐fibrin clots. Using standard adhesion and proliferation assays, we found that monocytes differentially adhere, proliferate, and cluster on and within the 3D‐fibrin clots depending on the final fibrinogen and thrombin concentration. Moreover, using a Boyden chamber assay, we found that monocytes migrated through the 3D‐fibrin clots in 1–2 days. Furthermore, the protein expression in monocytes seeded on 3D‐fibrin clots for various time points varied depending on the fibrinogen and thrombin concentrations in the final 3D‐fibrin clots. The above data suggest that various formulations of fibrin sealant Tisseel® present a good surface for monocyte adhesion, proliferation and migration in vitro and potentially during the wound‐healing process in vivo. Moreover, because the monocytes proliferated well and clustered in the 3D fibrin, Tisseel® could be a good delivery vehicle for delivering monocytes into chronic wounds to overcome a healing deficiency.