Use of monocyte/endothelial cell co-cultures (in vitro) and a subcutaneous implant mouse model (in vivo) to evaluate a degradable polar hydrophobic ionic polyurethane

• Published in: Journal of cellular biochemistry Vol. 112; no. 12; pp. 3762 - 3772
• Main Authors: McDonald, Sarah M., Matheson, Loren A., McBane, Joanne E., Kuraitis, Drew, Suuronen, Erik, Santerre, Joseph Paul, Labow, Rosalind S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Animals; Biocompatible Materials; Blood Vessel Prosthesis; Blotting, Western; Co-culture; Coculture Techniques; Cytokines - metabolism; Endothelial cell; Endothelium, Vascular - cytology; Endothelium, Vascular - metabolism; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Models, Animal; Monocyte/macrophage; Monocytes - cytology; Monocytes - metabolism; Polyurethane; Polyurethanes - metabolism; Scaffold implant; Vascular graft
• DOI: 10.1002/jcb.23307
• ISSN: 0730-2312

Potential benefits of co‐culturing monocytes (MC) with vascular smooth muscle cells have been reported on for tissue engineering applications with a degradable, polar, hydrophobic, and ionic polyurethane (D‐PHI). Since the interaction of MC and endothelial cells (EC) within the blood vessel endothelium is also a process of wound repair it was of interest to investigate their function when cultured on the synthetic D‐PHI materials, prior to considering the materials' use in vascular engineering. The co‐culture (MC/EC) in vitro studies were carried out on films in 96 well plates and porous scaffold disks were prepared for implant studies in an in vivo subcutaneous mouse model. After 7 days in culture, the MC/EC condition was equal to EC growth but had lower esterase activity (a measure of degradative potential), no pro‐inflammatory TNF‐α and a relatively high anti‐inflammatory IL‐10 release while the ECs maintained their functional marker CD31. After explantation of the porous scaffolds, a live/dead stain showed that the cells infiltrating the scaffolds were viable and histological stains (May‐Grunwald, Trichrome) demonstrated tissue in growth and extracellular matrix synthesis. Lysates from the implant scaffolds analyzed with a cytokine antibody array showed decreased pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐6, TNF‐α, GM‐CSF), increased anti‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐10, IL‐13, TNF‐RI), and increased chemotactic cytokines (MCP‐1, MCP‐5, RANTES). The low foreign body response elicited by D‐PHI when implanted in vivo supported the in vitro studies (EC and MC co‐culture), demonstrating that D‐PHI promoted EC growth along with an anti‐inflammatory MC, further demonstrating its potential as a tissue engineering scaffold for vascular applications. J. Cell. Biochem. 112: 3762–3772, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.