Characterization of Tissue Engineered Endothelial Cell Networks in Composite Collagen-Agarose Hydrogels
Houda Ichanti,
Sanja Sladic,
Stefan Kalies,
Axel Haverich,
Birgit Andrée,
Andres Hilfiker
Affiliations
Houda Ichanti
Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Sanja Sladic
Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Stefan Kalies
Institute of Quantum Optics, Leibniz University Hannover, 30167 Hannover, Germany
Axel Haverich
Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Birgit Andrée
Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Andres Hilfiker
Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO), Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany
Scaffolds constitute an important element in vascularized tissues and are therefore investigated for providing the desired mechanical stability and enabling vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. In this study, supplementation of hydrogels containing either MatrigelTM and rat tail collagen I (MatrigelTM/rCOL) or human collagen (hCOL) with SeaPlaqueTM agarose were analyzed with regard to construct thickness and formation and characteristics of endothelial cell (EC) networks compared to constructs without agarose. Additionally, the effect of increased rCOL content in MatrigelTM/rCOL constructs was studied. An increase of rCOL content from 1 mg/mL to 3 mg/mL resulted in an increase of construct thickness by approximately 160%. The high rCOL content, however, impaired the formation of an EC network. The supplementation of MatrigelTM/rCOL with agarose increased the thickness of the hydrogel construct by approximately 100% while supporting the formation of a stable EC network. The use of hCOL/agarose composite hydrogels led to a slight increase in the thickness of the 3D hydrogel construct and supported the formation of a multi-layered EC network compared to control constructs. Our findings suggest that agarose/collagen-based composite hydrogels are promising candidates for tissue engineering of vascularized constructs as cell viability is maintained and the formation of a stable and multi-layered EC network is supported.
