Department of Biomedical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931-1295, USA.
Acta Biomater. 2011 Mar;7(3):1104-13. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2010.10.016. Epub 2010 Oct 23.
Axillary dissection during breast cancer surgery produces extensive lymphatic vessel damage that often leads to lifelong secondary lymphedema of the arm. We have developed a biodegradable material conduit for lymphatic vessel reconstruction where fibers electrospun along the conduit lumen promote endothelial cell alignment and migration in vitro. The diameter and density of the electrospun fibers were optimized for cell migration and direction on two-dimensional substrates by seeding human lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) onto aligned fibers of varying diameters and densities, randomly oriented fibers, and film substrates with no fibers. We found that LECs became aligned in the fiber direction, with cells seeded on the randomly oriented fibers becoming oriented in random directions, whereas cells seeded on the highly aligned fibers became highly aligned. Cell migration was dependent upon fiber alignment and density, with optimal migration found on 1300 nm diameter aligned fibers of low density. Blood endothelial cells seeded on the fibers exhibited similar behavior as the LECs. Fiber alignment was preserved upon rolling the two-dimensional substrate into the tubular geometry of a lymphatic vessel. The data suggest that aligned electrospun fibers may promote endothelial migration across the conduit in a manner that is independent of lymphatic growth factors.
乳腺癌手术中的腋窝清扫会导致淋巴管广泛损伤，这往往会导致手臂终身继发性淋巴水肿。我们已经开发出一种用于淋巴管重建的可生物降解材料导管，其中沿着导管腔电纺的纤维在体外促进内皮细胞的排列和迁移。通过将人淋巴管内皮细胞（LEC）接种到不同直径和密度的定向纤维、随机定向纤维和无纤维的薄膜基底上，优化了电纺纤维的直径和密度，以促进细胞在二维基底上的迁移和定向。我们发现 LEC 沿纤维方向排列，接种在随机定向纤维上的细胞沿随机方向定向，而接种在高度定向纤维上的细胞则高度定向。细胞迁移依赖于纤维的定向和密度，在低密度 1300nm 直径的定向纤维上发现了最佳迁移。接种在纤维上的血内皮细胞表现出与 LEC 相似的行为。将二维基底卷成淋巴管的管状结构时，纤维的定向保持不变。这些数据表明，定向电纺纤维可以促进内皮细胞穿过导管的迁移，而与淋巴管生长因子无关。
