Mesenchymal Stem Cells Increase Neo-Angiogenesis and Albumin Production in a Liver Tissue-Engineered Engraftment.
Int J Mol Sci
; 17(3): 374, 2016 Mar 12.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26985891
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.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Hepatocytes
/
Tissue Engineering
/
Albumins
/
Mesenchymal Stem Cells
/
Liver
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2016
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italy