School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
J Biomed Mater Res A. 2021 Aug;109(8):1337-1352. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.37125. Epub 2020 Nov 6.
The physical properties of a biomaterial play an essential role in regulating immune and reparative activities within the host tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the immunological impact of material stiffness of a glycol-chitosan hydrogel designed for vocal fold tissue engineering. Hydrogel stiffness was varied via the concentration of glyoxal cross-linker applied. Hydrogel mechanical properties were characterized through atomic force microscopy and shear plate rheometry. Using a transwell setup, macrophages were co-cultured with human vocal fold fibroblasts that were embedded within the hydrogel. Macrophage viability and cytokine secretion were evaluated at 3, 24, and 72 hr of culture. Flow cytometry was applied to evaluate macrophage cell surface markers after 72 hr of cell culture. Results indicated that increasing hydrogel stiffness was associated with increased anti-inflammatory activity compared to relevant controls. In addition, increased anti-inflammatory activity was observed in hydrogel co-cultures. This study highlighted the importance of hydrogel stiffness from an immunological viewpoint when designing novel vocal fold hydrogels.
生物材料的物理特性在调节宿主组织内的免疫和修复活动方面起着至关重要的作用。本研究旨在评估设计用于声带组织工程的乙二醇壳聚糖水凝胶的材料硬度对免疫的影响。通过应用不同浓度的乙二醛交联剂来改变水凝胶的硬度。通过原子力显微镜和剪切板流变仪来表征水凝胶的力学性能。使用 Transwell 装置，将巨噬细胞与嵌入水凝胶中的人声带成纤维细胞共培养。在培养的 3、24 和 72 小时评估巨噬细胞活力和细胞因子分泌。在细胞培养 72 小时后，应用流式细胞术评估巨噬细胞表面标志物。结果表明，与相关对照相比，增加水凝胶硬度与抗炎活性增加相关。此外，在水凝胶共培养物中观察到抗炎活性增加。本研究从免疫学角度强调了设计新型声带水凝胶时水凝胶硬度的重要性。
