Abstract
Functionally contracting smooth muscle is an essential part of the engineered intestine that has not been replicated in vitro. The purpose of this study is to produce contracting smooth muscle in culture by maintaining the native smooth muscle organization. We employed intact smooth muscle strips and compared them to dissociated smooth muscle cells in culture for 14 days. Cells isolated by enzymatic digestion quickly lost maturity markers for smooth muscle cells and contained few enteric neural and glial cells. Cultured smooth muscle strips exhibited periodic contraction and maintained neural and glial markers. Smooth muscle strips cultured for 14 days also exhibited regular fluctuation of intracellular calcium, whereas cultured smooth muscle cells did not. After implantation in omentum for 14 days on polycaprolactone scaffolds, smooth muscle strip constructs expressed high levels of smooth muscle maturity markers as well as enteric neural and glial cells. Intact smooth muscle strips may be a useful component for engineered intestinal smooth muscle.
Highlights
Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a significant clinical complication that occurs when there is insufficient length of functional intestine, leading to malabsorption [1]
We explored the role of basic fibroblast growth factor in the proliferation and survival of Isolated smooth muscle cells (ISMC) seeded on poly e-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds coated with collagen and implanted in the rat omentum [15]
We provide evidence that cultured smooth muscle strips maintain cellular interactions similar to those in native intestine
Summary
Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a significant clinical complication that occurs when there is insufficient length of functional intestine, leading to malabsorption [1]. Intestinal tissue engineering is an innovative approach for the treatment of SBS. Within the digestive tract are several specialized tissues, including the smooth muscle, that are responsible for mixing luminal contents for absorption and propelling contents toward the rectum. Between the layers of smooth muscle is the myenteric plexus that coordinates smooth muscle contraction and intestinal motility [4, 5]. Pacemaker activity originates in the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) and the pathway of conduction to intestinal smooth muscle is controversial [6]. Smooth muscle contraction is integrated by signals from many sources and may conduct through the enteric nervous system, through ICCs, or in another way entirely [7,8,9]. Glial cells form networks with smooth muscle cells [10], and the loss of glia decreases smooth muscle motor function [11]
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