Shany B, Peretz H, Blinder P, Lichtenfeld Y, Jeger R, Vago R, Baranes D
Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
Tissue Eng. 2006 Jul;12(7):1763-73. doi: 10.1089/ten.2006.12.1763.
Astrocytes play a pivotal role in the development and function of the central nervous system by regulating synaptic activity and supporting and guiding growing axons. It is therefore a central therapeutic and scientific challenge to develop means to control astrocytic survival and growth. We cultured primary hippocampal astrocytes on a crystalline three-dimensional (3D) aragonite biomatrix prepared from the exoskeleton of the coral Porites lutea. Such culturing led to the formation of astrocytic tissue-like 3D structures in which the cells had a higher survival rate than astrocytes grown in conventional cell culture. Within the pore void areas, multiple layers of astrocytic processes formed concave sheet structures that had no physical contact with the surface. The astrocytes attached to the crystalline perpendicular edges of the crystalline template surface extended processes in 3D and expressed glial fibrillary acidic protein. The astrocytes also expressed gap junctions and developed partly synchronized cytosolic Ca2+ oscillations. Preliminary in vivo models showed that astrocytic networks were also developed when the matrices were implanted into cortical areas of postnatal rat brains. Hence, we suggest that the biomatrix is a biocompatible supportive scaffold for astrocytes and may be exploited in applications for neuronal tissue restoration in injured or diseased central nervous system.
星形胶质细胞通过调节突触活动以及支持和引导生长中的轴突，在中枢神经系统的发育和功能中发挥关键作用。因此，开发控制星形胶质细胞存活和生长的方法是一项核心的治疗和科学挑战。我们将原代海马星形胶质细胞培养在由黄孔珊瑚外骨骼制备的晶体三维（3D）文石生物基质上。这种培养导致形成星形胶质细胞样的3D结构，其中细胞的存活率高于在传统细胞培养中生长的星形胶质细胞。在孔隙区域内，多层星形胶质细胞突起形成了与表面无物理接触的凹片状结构。附着在晶体模板表面的晶体垂直边缘上的星形胶质细胞在三维空间中伸出突起并表达胶质纤维酸性蛋白。星形胶质细胞还表达缝隙连接并产生部分同步的胞质Ca2+振荡。初步的体内模型表明，当将基质植入新生大鼠脑的皮质区域时，也会形成星形胶质细胞网络。因此，我们认为该生物基质是一种对星形胶质细胞具有生物相容性的支持性支架，可用于受损或患病中枢神经系统的神经元组织修复应用。
