Boraldi Federica, Bartolomeo Angelica, Annovi Giulia, Debret Romain, Quaglino Daniela
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 287, Modena 41125, Italy.
Laboratory of Tissue Biology and Therapeutic Engineering (LBTI), UMR5305 CNRS/UCBL, Lyon 69366, France.
Materials (Basel). 2016 Jun 15;9(6):477. doi: 10.3390/ma9060477.
Mineralized collagen gels have been developed as models to better understand the mechanisms regulating the calcification process and the behavior of a variety of cell types. The vast majority of data are related to stem cells and to osteoblast-like cells, whereas little information is available for dermal fibroblasts, although these cells have been associated with ectopic calcification and consequently to a number of pathological conditions. Therefore, we developed and characterized an enzymatically mineralized collagen gel in which fibroblasts were encapsulated within the 3D structure. MgCl₂ was also added during gel polymerization, given its role as (i) modulator of ectopic calcification; (ii) component of biomaterials used for bone replacement; and (iii) constituent of pathological mineral deposits. Results demonstrate that, in a short time, an enzymatically mineralized collagen gel can be prepared in which mineral deposits and viable cells are homogeneously distributed. MgCl₂ is present in mineral deposits and significantly affects collagen fibril assembly and organization. Consequently, cell shape and the ability of fibroblasts to retract collagen gels were modified. The development of three-dimensional (3D) mineralized collagen matrices with both different structural features and mineral composition together with the use of fibroblasts, as a prototype of soft connective tissue mesenchymal cells, may pave new ways for the study of ectopic calcification.
矿化胶原凝胶已被开发为模型，以更好地理解调节钙化过程的机制以及各种细胞类型的行为。绝大多数数据与干细胞和成骨样细胞有关，而关于真皮成纤维细胞的信息很少，尽管这些细胞与异位钙化有关，因此与许多病理状况有关。因此，我们开发并表征了一种酶促矿化胶原凝胶，其中成纤维细胞被包裹在三维结构中。在凝胶聚合过程中还添加了MgCl₂，因为它具有以下作用：（i）异位钙化的调节剂；（ii）用于骨替代的生物材料的成分；（iii）病理性矿物质沉积物的成分。结果表明，在短时间内，可以制备一种酶促矿化胶原凝胶，其中矿物质沉积物和活细胞均匀分布。MgCl₂存在于矿物质沉积物中，并显著影响胶原纤维的组装和组织。因此，细胞形状和成纤维细胞收缩胶原凝胶的能力发生了改变。开发具有不同结构特征和矿物质组成的三维（3D）矿化胶原基质，并使用成纤维细胞作为软结缔组织间充质细胞的原型，可能为异位钙化的研究开辟新途径。
