Stanzione Antonella, Polini Alessandro, Scalera Francesca, Gigli Giuseppe, Moroni Lorenzo, Gervaso Francesca
Università Del Salento, Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica E. de Giorgi, Campus Ecotekne, via Monteroni, Lecce, 73100, Italy.
CNR NANOTEC - Institute of Nanotechnology, Campus Ecotekne, via Monteroni, Lecce, 73100, Italy.
Heliyon. 2024 Oct 24;10(21):e39820. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39820. eCollection 2024 Nov 15.
The dynamic interplay between extracellular matrix (ECM), its 3D architecture and resident cells plays a pivotal role in cell behavior influencing essential processes like proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Matrix-based 3D culture systems have emerged as valuable tools to model organ and tissue interactions . A 3D matrix analog must possess high biocompatibility and fully reproduce the characteristics of the native tissue in terms of mechanical properties. In this regard, interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) are particularly attractive because of the high tunability of their physicochemical properties. In this study, a chitosan (Ch) and modified gelatin (GelMA) IPN with a sol-gel transition triggered by two external physical stimuli, UV light and temperature, was designed to mimic the muscle tissue ECM in terms of mechanical stiffness. The system was deeply characterized demonstrating to support not only the growth and viability of muscle cells embedded within the hydrogel, but also cell differentiation toward muscle phenotype.
细胞外基质（ECM）、其三维结构与驻留细胞之间的动态相互作用在影响细胞增殖、迁移和分化等重要过程的细胞行为中起着关键作用。基于基质的三维培养系统已成为模拟器官和组织相互作用的重要工具。三维基质类似物必须具有高生物相容性，并在机械性能方面完全重现天然组织的特征。在这方面，互穿聚合物网络（IPN）因其物理化学性质的高度可调性而特别具有吸引力。在本研究中，设计了一种壳聚糖（Ch）和改性明胶（GelMA）互穿聚合物网络，其溶胶-凝胶转变由紫外线和温度这两种外部物理刺激触发，旨在在机械硬度方面模拟肌肉组织细胞外基质。该系统经过深入表征，证明不仅能支持嵌入水凝胶中的肌肉细胞的生长和活力，还能支持细胞向肌肉表型分化。
