Selective induction of undifferentiated cells to vascular cells by tissue engineering methods

2003 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 14580810
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Biomedical engineering/Biological material science
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: OOKAWA Keiko University of Tsukuba, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Assistant Professor, 基礎医学系, 講師 (30251052)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): MIYOSHI Hirotoshi University of Tsukuba, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Assistant Professor, 基礎医学系, 講師 (70292547) ; OHSHIMA Norio University of Tsukuba, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Professor, 基礎医学系, 教授 (50015971)
• Project Period (FY): 2002 – 2003
• Keywords: tissue engineering / vessel graft / vascular endothelial cell / vascular smooth muscle cell / bone marrow cell / nanofilm / injury repair

Research Abstract

In order to improve perfusion of ischemic tissue, undifferentiated cells such as bone marrow cells are currently used as to induce the development of neovasculature. From the recent results of tissue engineering, mechanical environments such as flow shear stress, cyclic stretch or stiffness of culture substrates must have favorable effects in inducing the differentiation of bone marrow cells into vascular cells. In the present study, we used transparent elastic silicone rubber (poly-dimethyl siloxane, PDMS) as a culture substrate for mouse bone marrow cells, mouse and porcine aortic endothelial cells, mouse and porcine aortic smooth muscle cells. Young's moduli of PDMS were comparable to those of large vessels, however the cell attachment was poor on its native polymer surface independent of the species of the cells tested. After nanocoating wity polyethylen imine/polystylene surfate layers (layer-by-layer method), attachment of mouse bone marrow cells was comparable to those values measured on type I collagen-coated surface and commertially available tissue culture grade polystyrene. In the case of vascular smooth muscle cells on PDMS, attachment, viability and motility increased when cultured on softer materials with smaller Young's modulus ; and those tendency was more prominent in vascular smooth muscle cells than in the case of vascular endothelial cells. Moreover, the level of cell injury and the recovery thereafter was able to be quantified in in vitro under time-lapse microscopy. These results are currently being submitted or in manuscript preparation.