Growth of Epithelial Organoids in a Defined Hydrogel.

Epithelial organoids are simplified models of organs grown in vitro from embryonic and adult stem cells. They are widely used to study organ development and disease, and enable drug screening in patient-derived primary tissues. Current protocols, however, rely on animal- and tumor-derived basement membrane extract (BME) as a 3D scaffold, which limits possible applications in regenerative medicine.

Novel enzymatically cross-linked hyaluronan hydrogels support the formation of 3D neuronal networks.

Hyaluronan (HA) is an essential component of the central nervous system's extracellular matrix and its high molecular weight (MW) form has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties relevant for regenerative medicine. Here, we introduce a new hydrogel based on high MW HA which is cross-linked using the transglutaminase (TG) activity of the activated blood coagulation factor XIII (FXIIIa). These HA-TG gels have significant advantages for neural tissue engineering compared to previous HA gels.