Partner: Cesare Gargioli

Tor Vergata Rome University (IT)

Recent publications
1.Rinoldi C., Costantini M., Kijeńska-Gawrońska E., Testa S., Fornetti E., Heljak M., Ćwiklińska M., Buda R., Baldi J., Cannata S., Guzowski J., Gargioli C., Khademhosseini A., Święszkowski W., Tendon tissue engineering: effects of mechanical and biochemical stimulation on stem cell alignment on cell‐laden hydrogel yarns, ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS, ISSN: 2192-2659, DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201801218, Vol.8, No.7, pp.1801218-1-10, 2019
Abstract:

Fiber-based approaches hold great promise for tendon tissue engineering enabling the possibility of manufacturing aligned hydrogel filaments that can guide collagen fiber orientation, thereby providing a biomimetic micro-environment for cell attachment, orientation, migration, and proliferation. In this study, a 3D system composed of cell-laden, highly aligned hydrogel yarns is designed and obtained via wet spinning in order to reproduce the morphology and structure of tendon fascicles. A bioink composed of alginate and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) is optimized for spinning and loaded with human bone morrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBM-MSCs). The produced scaffolds are subjected to mechanical stretching to recapitulate the strains occurring in native tendon tissue. Stem cell differentiation is promoted by addition of bone morphogenetic protein 12 (BMP-12) in the culture medium. The aligned orientation of the fibers combined with mechanical stimulation results in highly preferential longitudinal cell orientation and demonstrates enhanced collagen type I and III expression. Additionally, the combination of biochemical and mechanical stimulations promotes the expression of specific tenogenic markers, signatures of efficient cell differentiation towards tendon. The obtained results suggest that the proposed 3D cell-laden aligned system can be used for engineering of scaffolds for tendon regeneration.

Keywords:

hydrogel fibers, static mechanical stretching, stem cell alignment, tenogenic differentiation, wet spinning

Affiliations:
Rinoldi C.-other affiliation
Costantini M.-Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
Kijeńska-Gawrońska E.-Warsaw University of Technology (PL)
Testa S.-Tor Vergata Rome University (IT)
Fornetti E.-Tor Vergata Rome University (IT)
Heljak M.-Warsaw University of Technology (PL)
Ćwiklińska M.-Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Buda R.-Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Baldi J.-Tor Vergata Rome University (IT)
Cannata S.-Tor Vergata Rome University (IT)
Guzowski J.-Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Gargioli C.-Tor Vergata Rome University (IT)
Khademhosseini A.-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
Święszkowski W.-other affiliation

List of chapters in recent monographs
1.
625
Costantini M., Testa S., Rinoldi C., Celikkin N., Idaszek J., Colosi C., Gargioli C., Święszkowski W., Barbetta A., Biomaterials Science Series, Biofabrication and 3D Tissue Modeling, rozdział: 3D Tissue Modelling of Skeletal Muscle Tissue, Royal Society of Chemistry, Edited by Dong-Woo Cho, 3, pp.184-215, 2019