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van Kampen KA, Olaret E, Stancu IC, Duarte Campos DF, Fischer H, Mota C, Moroni L. Hypotrochoidal scaffolds for cartilage regeneration. Mater Today Bio 2023; 23:100830. [PMID: 37876709 PMCID: PMC10590751 DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2023.100830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The main function of articular cartilage is to provide a low friction surface and protect the underlying subchondral bone. The extracellular matrix composition of articular cartilage mainly consists of glycosaminoglycans and collagen type II. Specifically, collagen type II fibers have an arch-like organization that can be mimicked with segments of a hypotrochoidal curve. In this study, a script was developed that allowed the fabrication of scaffolds with a hypotrochoidal design. This design was investigated and compared to a regular 0-90 woodpile design. The mechanical analyses revealed that the hypotrochoidal design had a lower component Young's modulus while the toughness and strain at yield were higher compared to the woodpile design. Fatigue tests showed that the hypotrochoidal design lost more energy per cycle due to the damping effect of the unique microarchitecture. In addition, data from cell culture under dynamic stimulation demonstrated that the collagen type II deposition was improved and collagen type X reduced in the hypotrochoidal design. Finally, Alcian blue staining revealed that the areas where the stress was higher during the stimulation produced more glycosaminoglycans. Our results highlight a new and simple scaffold design based on hypotrochoidal curves that could be used for cartilage tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenny A. van Kampen
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel 40, 6229ER, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Elena Olaret
- Advanced Polymer Materials Group, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, 011061, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Izabela-Cristina Stancu
- Advanced Polymer Materials Group, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, 011061, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Daniela F. Duarte Campos
- Bioprinting & Tissue Engineering Group, Center for Molecular Biology Heidelberg (ZMBH), Heidelberg University, Germany
| | - Horst Fischer
- Department of Dental Materials and Biomaterials Research, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen, Germany
| | - Carlos Mota
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel 40, 6229ER, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Lorenzo Moroni
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel 40, 6229ER, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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Fernández-Pérez J, van Kampen KA, Mota C, Baker M, Moroni L. Flexible, Suturable, and Leak-free Scaffolds for Vascular Tissue Engineering Using Melt Spinning. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2023; 9:5006-5014. [PMID: 37490420 PMCID: PMC10428091 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c00535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Coronary artery disease affects millions worldwide. Bypass surgery remains the gold standard; however, autologous tissue is not always available. Hence, the need for an off-the-shelf graft to treat these patients remains extremely high. Using melt spinning, we describe here the fabrication of tubular scaffolds composed of microfibers aligned in the circumferential orientation mimicking the organized extracellular matrix in the tunica media of arteries. By variation of the translational extruder speed, the angle between fibers ranged from 0 to ∼30°. Scaffolds with the highest angle showed the best performance in a three-point bending test. These constructs could be bent up to 160% strain without kinking or breakage. Furthermore, when liquid was passed through the scaffolds, no leakage was observed. Suturing of native arteries was successful. Mesenchymal stromal cells were seeded on the scaffolds and differentiated into vascular smooth muscle-like cells (vSMCs) by reduction of serum and addition of transforming growth factor beta 1 and ascorbic acid. The scaffolds with a higher angle between fibers showed increased expression of vSMC markers alpha smooth muscle actin, calponin, and smooth muscle protein 22-alpha, whereas a decrease in collagen 1 expression was observed, indicating a positive contractile phenotype. Endothelial cells were seeded on the repopulated scaffolds and formed a tightly packed monolayer on the luminal side. Our study shows a one-step fabrication for ECM-mimicking scaffolds with good handleability, leak-free property, and suturability; the excellent biocompatibility allowed the growth of a bilayered construct. Future work will explore the possibility of using these scaffolds as vascular conduits in in vivo settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Fernández-Pérez
- Department of Complex Tissue
Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative
Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Kenny A. van Kampen
- Department of Complex Tissue
Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative
Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Carlos Mota
- Department of Complex Tissue
Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative
Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Matthew Baker
- Department of Complex Tissue
Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative
Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Lorenzo Moroni
- Department of Complex Tissue
Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative
Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Chakraborty J, Fernández Pérez J, van Kampen KA, Roy S, Brink TT, Mota C, Ghosh S, Moroni L. Development of a biomimetic arch-like 3D bioprinted construct for cartilage regeneration using gelatin methacryloyl and silk fibroin-gelatin bioinks. Biofabrication 2023; 15. [PMID: 36947889 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/acc68f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, engineering biomimetic cellular microenvironments have been a top priority for regenerative medicine. Collagen II, which is arranged in arches, forms the predominant fiber network in articular cartilage. Due to the shortage of suitable microfabrication techniques capable of producing 3D fibrous structures, in vitro replication of the arch-like cartilaginous tissue constitutes one of the major challenges. Hence, in the present study, we report a 3D bioprinting approach for fabricating arch-like constructs using two types of bioinks, gelatin methacryloyl(GelMa) and silk fibroin-gelatin(SF-G). The bioprinted SF-G constructs displayed increased proliferation of the encapsulated human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells compared to the GelMA constructs. Biochemical assays, gene, and protein expression exhibited the superior role of SF-G in forming the fibrous collagen network and chondrogenesis. Protein-protein interaction study using Metascape evaluated the function of the proteins involved. Further GeneMANIA and STRING analysis using Col2A1, SOX9, ACAN, and the genes upregulated on day 21 in RT-PCR, i.e., β-catenin, TGFβR1, Col1A1 in SF-G and PRG4, Col10A1, MMP13 in GelMA validated our in vitro results. These findings emphasized the role of SF-G in regulating the Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β signaling pathways. Hence, the 3D bioprinted arch-like constructs possess a substantial potential for cartilage regeneration.

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Affiliation(s)
- Juhi Chakraborty
- Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, Delhi, 110016, INDIA
| | - Julia Fernández Pérez
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, The Netherlands, Maastricht, Limburg, 6229ER, NETHERLANDS
| | - Kenny A van Kampen
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, Maastricht , 6229ER, NETHERLANDS
| | - Subhadeep Roy
- Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, Delhi, 110016, INDIA
| | - Tim Ten Brink
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, Maastricht, Limburg, 6229ER, NETHERLANDS
| | - Carlos Mota
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration (CTR), University of Maastricht , Universiteitssingel, 40, office 3.541A, Maastricht, 6229 ER, NETHERLANDS
| | - Sourabh Ghosh
- Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 110016, New Delhi, 110016, INDIA
| | - Lorenzo Moroni
- Complex Tissue Regeneration, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel, 40, Maastricht, 6229ER, NETHERLANDS
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van Kampen KA, Fernández-Pérez J, Baker M, Mota C, Moroni L. Fabrication of a mimetic vascular graft using melt spinning with tailorable fiber parameters. Biomater Adv 2022; 139:212972. [PMID: 35882129 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2022.212972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Smooth muscle cells play a pivotal role in maintaining blood pressure and remodeling of the extracellular matrix. These cells have a characteristic spindle shape and are aligned in the radial direction to aid in the constriction of any artery. Tissue engineered grafts have the potential to recreate this alignment and offer a viable alternative to non-resorbable or autologous grafts. Specifically, with melt spinning small diameter fibers can be created that can align circumferentially on the scaffolds. In this study, a set of simplified equations were formulated to predict the final fiber parameters. Smooth muscle cell alignment was monitored on the fabricated scaffolds. Finally, a co-culture of smooth muscle cells in direct contact with endothelial cells was performed to assess the influence of the smooth muscle cell alignment on the morphology of the endothelial cells. The results show that the equations were able to accurately predict the fiber diameter, distance and angle. Primary vascular smooth muscle cells aligned according to the fiber direction mimicking the native orientation. The co-culture with endothelial cells showed that the aligned smooth muscle cells did not have an influence on the morphology of the endothelial cells. In conclusion, we formulated a series of equations that can predict the fiber parameters during melt spinning. Furthermore, the method described here can create a vascular graft with smooth muscle cells aligned circumferentially that morphologically mimics the native orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenny A van Kampen
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Julia Fernández-Pérez
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Matthew Baker
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Carlos Mota
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Lorenzo Moroni
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands.
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van Kampen KA, Olaret E, Stancu IC, Moroni L, Mota C. Controllable four axis extrusion-based additive manufacturing system for the fabrication of tubular scaffolds with tailorable mechanical properties. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl 2020; 119:111472. [PMID: 33321595 DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2020.111472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Many tubular tissues such as blood vessels and trachea can suffer long-segmental defects through trauma and disease. With current limitations in the use of autologous grafts, the need for a synthetic substitute is of continuous interest as possible alternatives. Fabrication of these tubular organs is commonly done with techniques such as electrospinning and melt electrowriting using a rotational collector. Current additive manufacturing (AM) systems do not commonly implement the use of a rotational axis, which limits their application for the fabrication of tubular scaffolds. In this study, a four axis extrusion-based AM system similar to fused deposition modeling (FDM) has been developed to create tubular hollow scaffolds. A rectangular and a diamond pore design were further investigated for mechanical characterization, as a standard and a biomimicry pore geometry respectively. We demonstrated that in the radial compression mode the diamond pore design had a higher Young's modulus (19,8 ± 0,7 MPa compared to 2,8 ± 0,5 MPa), while in the longitudinal tensile mode the rectangular pore design had a higher Young's modulus (5,8 ± 0,2 MPa compared to 0,1 ± 0,01 MPa). Three-point bending analyses revealed that the diamond pore design is more resistant to luminal collapse compared to the rectangular design. This data showed that by changing the scaffold pore design, a wide range of mechanical properties could be obtained. Furthermore, a full control over scaffold design and geometry can be achieved with the developed 4-axis extrusion-based system, which has not been reported with other techniques. This flexibility allow the manufacturing of scaffolds for diverse tubular tissue regeneration applications by designing suitable deposition patterns to match their mechanical pre-requisites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenny A van Kampen
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Elena Olaret
- Advanced Polymer Materials Group, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Izabela-Cristina Stancu
- Advanced Polymer Materials Group, University Politehnica of Bucharest, 1-7 Gh. Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Lorenzo Moroni
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Carlos Mota
- Department of Complex Tissue Regeneration, MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Maastricht University, Universiteitsingel 40, 6229ER Maastricht, the Netherlands.
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Parfenov VA, Mironov VA, van Kampen KA, Karalkin PA, Koudan EV, Pereira FDAS, Petrov SV, Nezhurina EK, Petrov OF, Myasnikov MI, Walboomers FX, Engelkamp H, Christianen P, Khesuani YD, Moroni L, Mota C. Scaffold-free and label-free biofabrication technology using levitational assembly in a high magnetic field. Biofabrication 2020; 12:045022. [PMID: 32050181 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ab7554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The feasibility of magnetic levitational bioassembly of tissue-engineered constructs from living tissue spheroids in the presence of paramagnetic ions (i.e. Gd3+) was recently demonstrated. However, Gd3+ is relatively toxic at concentrations above 50 mM normally used to enable magnetic levitation with NdFeB-permanent magnets. Using a high magnetic field (a 50 mm-bore, 31 T Bitter magnet) at the High Field Magnet Laboratory at Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, we performed magnetic levitational assembly of tissue constructs from living spheroids prepared from the SW1353 chondrosarcoma cell line at 0.8 mM Gd3+ containing salt gadobutrol at 19 T magnetic field. The parameters of the levitation process were determined on the basis of polystyrene beads with a 170 μm-diameter. To predict the theoretical possibility of assembly, a zone of stable levitation in the horizontal and vertical areas of cross sections was previously calculated. The construct from tissue spheroids partially fused after 3 h in levitation. The analysis of viability after prolonged exposure (1 h) to strong magnetic fields (up to 30 T) showed the absence of significant cytotoxicity or morphology changes in the tissue spheroids. A high magnetic field works as a temporal and removal support or so-called 'scaffield'. Thus, formative biofabrication of tissue-engineered constructs from tissue spheroids in the high magnetic field is a promising research direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladislav A Parfenov
- Laboratory for Biotechnological Research '3D Bioprinting Solutions', Moscow, Russia
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