Development of a surface to increase retinal pigment epithelial cell (ARPE-19) proliferation under reduced serum conditions

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in medicine Vol. 25; no. 5; pp. 1367 - 1373
• Main Authors: Zuber, Agnieszka A., Robinson, David E., Short, Robert D., Steele, David A., Whittle, Jason D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.05.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adsorption; Biocompatible Materials - chemical synthesis; Biological and medical sciences; Biomaterials; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Biomedical materials; Cell culture; Cell growth; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation - physiology; Ceramics; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composites; Epithelial Cells - cytology; Epithelial Cells - physiology; Glass; Glycosaminoglycans - chemistry; Glycosaminoglycans - pharmacokinetics; Humans; Materials Science; Materials Testing; Medical sciences; Natural Materials; Polymer Sciences; Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering; Retina; Retinal Pigment Epithelium - cytology; Retinal Pigment Epithelium - growth & development; Serum - metabolism; Surfaces and Interfaces; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments; Thin Films; Tissue engineering; Tissue Engineering - methods; Retinal Pigment Epithelium; Heparan Sulfate; Plasma Polymer; Silk Fibroin; Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cell; Eye; Cell proliferation; Visual system; Pigments; Epithelial cell; Retina; Serum; Biomedical engineering
• ISSN: 0957-4530; 1573-4838
• DOI: 10.1007/s10856-014-5163-y

Age related macular degeneration of the eye is brought about by damage to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and is a major cause of adult blindness. One potential treatment method is transplantation of RPE cells grown in vitro. Maintaining RPE cell viability and physiological function in vitro is a challenge, and this must also be achieved using materials that can be subsequently used to deliver an intact cell sheet into the eye. In this paper, plasma polymerisation has been used to develop a chemically modified surface for maintaining RPE cells in vitro. Multiwell plates modified with a plasma copolymer of allylamine and octadiene maintained RPE cell growth at a level similar to that of TCPS. However, the addition of bound glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) to the plasma polymerised surface significantly enhanced RPE proliferation. Simply adding GAG to the culture media had no positive effect. It is shown that a combination of plasma polymer and GAG is a promising method for developing suitable surfaces for cell growth and delivery, that can be applied to any substrate material.