Biodegradable Polymer Nanofiber Mesh to Maintain Functions of Endothelial Cells
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Zuwei Ma; Seeram Ramakrishna; Ryuji Inai; Wei He; Wee Eong Teo; Thomas Yong
- Source
- Tissue Engineering. 12:2457-2466
- Subject
- Intimal hyperplasia
Polyesters
Cell Culture Techniques
Biocompatible Materials
In vivo
Absorbable Implants
Materials Testing
medicine
Humans
Cells, Cultured
Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
biology
Chemistry
Gene Expression Profiling
General Engineering
Endothelial Cells
Adhesion
medicine.disease
Coronary Vessels
Biodegradable polymer
Electrospinning
Nanostructures
Endothelial stem cell
Fibronectin
Gene Expression Regulation
Nanofiber
biology.protein
Biomedical engineering
- Language
- ISSN
- 1557-8690
1076-3279
Maintaining functions of endothelial cells in vitro is a prerequisite for effective endothelialization of biomaterials as an approach to prevent intimal hyperplasia of small-diameter vascular grafts. The aim of this study was to design suitable nanofiber meshes (NFMs) that further maintain the phenotype and functions of human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs). Collagen-coated random and aligned poly(L-lactic acid)-co-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (P(LLA-CL)) NFMs were fabricated using electrospinning. Mechanical testing showed that tensile modulus and strength were greater for the aligned P(LLA-CL) NFM than for the random NFM. Spatial distribution of the collagen in the NFMs was visualized by labeling with fluorescent dye. HCAECs grew along the direction of nanofiber alignment and showed elongated morphology that simulated endothelial cells in vivo under blood flow. Both random and aligned P(LLA-CL) NFMs preserved phenotype (expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1, fibronectin, and collagen type IV in protein level) and functions (complementary DNA microarray analysis of 112 genes relevant to endothelial cell functions) of HCAECs. The P(LLA-CL) NFMs are potential materials for tissue-engineered vascular grafts that may enable effective endothelialization.