Centro de Cromatografía y Espectrometría de Masas-CROM-MASS research group, Departamento de Ciencias básicas, Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Salud, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
GIMAT research group, Escuela de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Ciencia de Materiales, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Integr Biol (Camb). 2023 Apr 11;15. doi: 10.1093/intbio/zyad011.
Obesity is linked to adipose tissue dysfunction, a dynamic endocrine organ. Two-dimensional cultures present technical hurdles hampering their ability to follow individual or cell groups for metabolic disease research. Three-dimensional type I collagen microgels with embedded adipocytes have not been thoroughly investigated to evaluate adipogenic maintenance as instrument for studying metabolic disorders. We aimed to develop a novel tunable Col-I microgel simulating the adipocyte microenvironment to maintain differentiated cells with only insulin as in vitro model for obesity research. Adipocytes were cultured and encapsulated in collagen microgels at different concentrations (2, 3 and 4 mg/mL). Collagen microgels at 3 and 4 mg/mL were more stable after 8 days of culture. However, cell viability and metabolic activity were maintained at 2 and 3 mg/mL, respectively. Cell morphology, lipid mobilization and adipogenic gene expression demonstrated the maintenance of adipocyte phenotype in an in vitro microenvironment. We demonstrated the adequate stability and biocompatibility of the collagen microgel at 3 mg/mL. Cell and molecular analysis confirmed that adipocyte phenotype is maintained over time in the absence of adipogenic factors. These findings will help better understand and open new avenues for research on adipocyte metabolism and obesity. Insight box In the context of adipose tissue dysfunction research, new struggles have arisen owing to the difficulty of cellular maintenance in 2D cultures. Herein, we sought a novel approach using a 3D type I collagen-based biomaterial to adipocyte culture with only insulin. This component was tailored as a microgel in different concentrations to support the growth and survival of adipocytes. We demonstrate that adipocyte phenotype is maintained and key adipogenesis regulators and markers are over time. The cumulative results unveil the practical advantage of this microgel platform as an in vitro model to study adipocyte dysfunction and obesity.
肥胖与脂肪组织功能障碍有关，脂肪组织是一个动态的内分泌器官。二维培养存在技术障碍，限制了它们对代谢性疾病研究中单个或细胞群体进行跟踪的能力。具有嵌入脂肪细胞的三维 I 型胶原蛋白微凝胶尚未得到充分研究，以评估脂肪生成维持作为研究代谢紊乱的仪器。我们旨在开发一种新型可调谐的 Col-I 微凝胶，模拟脂肪细胞微环境，以维持分化细胞，仅用胰岛素作为肥胖研究的体外模型。脂肪细胞在不同浓度（2、3 和 4mg/ml）下培养并包埋在胶原微凝胶中。在培养 8 天后，3mg/ml 和 4mg/ml 的胶原微凝胶更稳定。然而，细胞活力和代谢活性分别在 2mg/ml 和 3mg/ml 时得到维持。细胞形态、脂质动员和脂肪生成基因表达表明，在体外微环境中维持脂肪细胞表型。我们证明了 3mg/ml 胶原微凝胶具有足够的稳定性和生物相容性。细胞和分子分析证实，在没有脂肪生成因子的情况下，脂肪细胞表型可以随时间维持。这些发现将有助于更好地理解和开辟研究脂肪细胞代谢和肥胖的新途径。
