A step closer to elastogenesis on demand; Inducing mature elastic fibre deposition in a natural biomaterial scaffold.

Elastic fibres play a key role in bodily functions where fatigue resistance and elastic recovery are necessary while regulating phenotype, proliferation and migration in cells. While in vivo elastic fibres are created at a late foetal stage, a major obstacle in the development of engineered tissue is that human vascular smooth muscle cells (hVSMCs), one of the principal elastogenic cells, are unable to spontaneously promote elastogenesis in vitro. Therefore, the overall aim of this study was to activate elastogenesis in vitro by hVSMCs seeded in fibrin, collagen, glycosaminoglycan (FCG) scaffolds, following the addition of recombinant human tropoelastin.

Freeze-Drying as a Novel Biofabrication Method for Achieving a Controlled Microarchitecture within Large, Complex Natural Biomaterial Scaffolds.

The biofabrication of large natural biomaterial scaffolds into complex 3D shapes which have a controlled microarchitecture remains a major challenge. Freeze-drying (or lyophilization) is a technique used to generate scaffolds in planar 3D geometries. Here we report the development of a new biofabrication process to form a collagen-based scaffold into a large, complex geometry which has a large height to width ratio, and a controlled porous microarchitecture.

Towards 3D in vitro models for the study of cardiovascular tissues and disease.

The field of tissue engineering is developing biomimetic biomaterial scaffolds that are showing increasing therapeutic potential for the repair of cardiovascular tissues. However, a major opportunity exists to use them as 3D in vitro models for the study of cardiovascular tissues and disease in addition to drug development and testing. These in vitro models can span the gap between 2D culture and in vivo testing, thus reducing the cost, time, and ethical burden of current approaches.

Incorporation of fibrin into a collagen-glycosaminoglycan matrix results in a scaffold with improved mechanical properties and enhanced capacity to resist cell-mediated contraction.

Unlabelled: Fibrin has many uses as a tissue engineering scaffold, however many in vivo studies have shown a reduction in function resulting from the susceptibility of fibrin to cell-mediated contraction. The overall aim of the present study was to develop and characterise a reinforced natural scaffold using fibrin, collagen and glycosaminoglycan (FCG), and to examine the cell-mediated contraction of this scaffold in comparison to fibrin gels. Through the use of an injection loading technique, a homogenous FCG scaffold was developed.