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A self-healing hydrogel as an injectable instructive carrier for cellular morphogenesis.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Wei, Z; Gerecht, S
Published in: Biomaterials
December 2018

Transplantation of progenitor cells can accelerate tissue healing and regenerative processes. Nonetheless, direct cell delivery fails to support survival of transplanted cells or long-term treatment of vascular related diseases due to compromised vasculature and tissue conditions. Using injectable hydrogels that cross-link in situ, could protect cells in vivo, but their sol-gel transition is time-dependent and difficult to precisely control. Hydrogels with self-healing properties are proposed to address these limitations, yet current self-healing hydrogels lack bio-functionality, hindering the morphogenesis of delivered cells into a tissue structure. Here we establish a gelatin (Gtn)-based self-healing hydrogel cross-linked by oxidized dextran (Odex) as an injectable carrier for delivery of endothelial progenitors. The dynamic imine cross-links between Gtn and Odex confer the self-healing ability to the Gtn-l-Odex hydrogels following syringe injection. The self-healing Gtn-l-Odex not only protects the progenitors from injected shear force but it also allows controllable spatial/temporal placement of the cells. Moreover, owing to the cell-adhesive and proteolytic sites of Gtn, the Gtn-l-Odex hydrogels support complex vascular network formation from the endothelial progenitors, both in vitro and in vivo. This is the first report of injectable, self-healing hydrogels with biological properties promoting vascular morphogenesis, which holds great promise for accelerating the success of regenerative therapies.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biomaterials

DOI

EISSN

1878-5905

ISSN

0142-9612

Publication Date

December 2018

Volume

185

Start / End Page

86 / 96

Related Subject Headings

  • Stem Cells
  • Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Neovascularization, Physiologic
  • Mice, Nude
  • Injections
  • Hydrogels
  • Gelatin
  • Female
  • Endothelial Cells
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Wei, Z., & Gerecht, S. (2018). A self-healing hydrogel as an injectable instructive carrier for cellular morphogenesis. Biomaterials, 185, 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2018.09.003
Journal cover image

Published In

Biomaterials

DOI

EISSN

1878-5905

ISSN

0142-9612

Publication Date

December 2018

Volume

185

Start / End Page

86 / 96

Related Subject Headings

  • Stem Cells
  • Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Neovascularization, Physiologic
  • Mice, Nude
  • Injections
  • Hydrogels
  • Gelatin
  • Female
  • Endothelial Cells