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- Title
Mesenchymal Stem Cells Increase Neo-Angiogenesis and Albumin Production in a Liver Tissue-Engineered Engraftment.
- Authors
Carraro, Amedeo; Buggio, Maurizio; Gardin, Chiara; Tedeschi, Umberto; Ferroni, Letizia; Zavan, Padova-Barbara
- Abstract
The construction of a three-dimensional (3D) liver tissue is limited by many factors; one of them is the lack of vascularization inside the tissue-engineered construct. An engineered liver pocket-scaffold able to increase neo-angiogenesis in vivo could be a solution to overcome these limitations. In this work, a hyaluronan (HA)-based scaffold enriched with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) and rat hepatocytes was pre-conditioned in a bioreactor system, then implanted into the liver of rats. Angiogenesis and hepatocyte metabolic functions were monitored. The formation of a de novo vascular network within the HA-based scaffold, as well as an improvement in albumin production by the implanted hepatocytes, were detected. The presence of hMSCs in the HA-scaffold increased the concentration of growth factors promoting angiogenesis inside the graft. This event ensured a high blood vessel density, coupled with a support to metabolic functions of hepatocytes. All together, these results highlight the important role played by stem cells in liver tissue-engineered engraftment.
- Subjects
MESENCHYMAL stem cells; LIVER cells; NEOVASCULARIZATION; HYALURONIC acid; MULTIPOTENT stem cells
- Publication
International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2016, Vol 17, Issue 3, p374
- ISSN
1661-6596
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ijms17030374