Guangzhou First People's Hospital and Institute for Life Sciences, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
MERLN Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine, Complex Tissue Regeneration Department, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Nanoscale. 2019 Aug 1;11(30):14312-14321. doi: 10.1039/c8nr10108f.
Bioinstructive scaffolds for regenerative medicine are characterized by intrinsic properties capable of directing cell response and promoting wound healing. The design of such scaffolds requires the incorporation of well-defined physical properties that mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM). Here, inspired by epithelial tissue morphogenesis, we present a novel approach to code nanofiber materials with controlled hierarchical wavy structures resembling the configurations of native EMC fibers through using thermally shrinking materials as substrates onto which the fibers are deposited. This approach could serve as a platform for fabricating functional scaffolds mimicking various tissues such as trachea, iris, artery wall and ciliary body. Modeling affirms that the mechanical properties of the fabricated wavy fibers could be regulated through varying their wavy patterns. The nanofibrous scaffolds coded with wavy patterns show an enhanced cellular infiltration. In addition, we further investigated whether the wavy patterns could regulate transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) production, a key signalling pathway involved in connective tissue development. Our results demonstrated that nanofibrous scaffolds coded with wavy patterns could induce TGF-β expression without the addition of a soluble growth factor. Our new approach could open up new avenues for fabricating bioinstructive scaffolds for regenerative medicine.
用于再生医学的生物指令性支架的特点是具有内在特性，能够指导细胞反应并促进伤口愈合。此类支架的设计需要结合具有明确物理特性的支架，使其模仿天然细胞外基质（ECM）。在这里，受上皮组织形态发生的启发，我们提出了一种新方法，通过使用热收缩材料作为基底，在基底上沉积纤维，从而对具有控制的分层波浪结构的纳米纤维材料进行编码，这些结构类似于天然 ECM 纤维的结构。这种方法可以作为制造各种组织（例如气管、虹膜、动脉壁和睫状体）的功能支架的平台。模型证实，通过改变纤维的波浪图案，可以调节所制造的波浪纤维的机械性能。用波浪图案编码的纳米纤维支架显示出增强的细胞渗透。此外，我们进一步研究了波浪图案是否可以调节转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）的产生，TGF-β 是参与结缔组织发育的关键信号通路。我们的结果表明，用波浪图案编码的纳米纤维支架可以在不添加可溶性生长因子的情况下诱导 TGF-β 的表达。我们的新方法可以为再生医学的生物指令性支架的制造开辟新途径。
