Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale 'A. Avogadro', Novara, Italy.
J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2012 Jan;6(1):60-7. doi: 10.1002/term.398. Epub 2011 Feb 8.
Vascular tissue engineering represents a promising field in the replacement of diseased vessels. The biological properties of three-dimensional (3D) collagen scaffolds indicate this material as a valid choice for vascular tissue engineering. Unfortunately, mechanical properties still remain unsatisfactory, due to a low burst pressure resistance and a plastic deformation. The use of a bioreactor to apply appropriate mechanical stresses have already shown a remodelling effect on the extracellular matrix and the behaviour of cells. In this study, we have shown the effect of the mechanical stress on elastin synthesis, which has a direct effect on the mechanical properties of the tissue-engineered vessel. We measured and compared the stress-strain curves, the elastic modulus and tenacity of a collagen tubular scaffold in the presence of C2C12 murine myoblasts cells, before and after the maturation in the bioreactor, applying a shear stress of 5 dynes/cm(2) for 3 days. Interesting evidence concerning the extracellular matrix structure, which significantly modify the biomechanical characteristics of the cellular scaffold, were observed, underlying the importance of focusing more effort in the research field of physiologically-guided 3D tissue-engineered substitutes.
血管组织工程是一种有前途的替代病变血管的方法。三维（3D）胶原支架的生物特性表明，该材料是血管组织工程的一个有效选择。然而，由于较低的爆破压力阻力和塑性变形，其机械性能仍然不尽如人意。生物反应器的使用已经显示出对细胞外基质和细胞行为的重塑作用。在这项研究中，我们展示了机械应力对弹性蛋白合成的影响，弹性蛋白合成对组织工程血管的机械性能有直接影响。我们测量并比较了在存在 C2C12 鼠成肌细胞的情况下，胶原管状支架的应力-应变曲线、弹性模量和韧性，在生物反应器中成熟前后，施加 5 达因/平方厘米的剪切应力 3 天。观察到细胞支架的细胞外基质结构的有趣变化，这显著改变了生物力学特性，强调了在生理指导的 3D 组织工程替代物研究领域投入更多努力的重要性。
