Elisabeth Engel
University of Catalonia, Spain
Title: Tailoring microenvironments for in situ regeneration
Biography
Biography: Elisabeth Engel
Abstract
At present, tissue engineering for bone regeneration seeks to obtain scaffolds that mimic the cell microenvironment to recruit stem and progenitor cells to recapitulate the development of target tissues. Herein, we have explored the use of citric acid related to bone nanostructure and mechanical performance, to develop scaffolds resembling the extracellular matrix of developing bone. Elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs) hydrogels were achieved through a one-step chemical crosslinking reaction with citric acid, a molecule currently considered to be essential for the proper performance of bone tissue. We were able to control the architecture and stiffness of citric acid-crosslinked hydrogels while preserving the integrity of adhesion sequences in ELRs. Interestingly, the use of citric acid conferred so-produced hydrogels the ability to nucleate calcium phosphate. In vivo implantation of both mechanically-tailored and non-tailored citric acid-crosslinked hydrogels demonstrated to be able to mineralize the new formed tissue and to integrate into bone in critical size defects in mouse calvaria. Both types of hydrogels showed bone tissue formation by intramembranous ossification. The non-mechanically tailored scaffold showed higher cellular activity (in terms of osteoblasts and osteoclasts presence) related to a lower density of the matrices that allowed higher cell penetration.
Recent Publications:
1. Sánchez Ferrero A, Mata Á, Mateos Timoneda MA, Rodríguez Cabello JC, Alonso M, Planell J, Engel E (2015) Development of tailored and self-mineralizing citric acid crosslinked hydrogels for in situ bone regeneration. Biomaterials 68:42-53
2. Mendes AC, Smith KH, Tejeda-Montes E, Engel, E, Reis RL, Azevedo HS, Mata A (2013) Co-assembled and microfabricated bioactive membranes. Advanced Functional Materials 23(4): 430-438
3. Levato R, Planell JA, Mateos-Timoneda MA, Engel E (2015) Role of ECM/peptide coatings on SDF-1α triggered mesenchymal stromal cell migration from microcarriers for cell therapy. Acta Biomater. 18:59-67
4. Oliveira Hugo, Catros Sylvain, Boiziau Claudine, Siadous Robin, Martiâ€Munoz Joan, Bareille Reine, Rey Sylvie, Castano Oscar, Planell Josep, Amédée Joëlle, Engel Elisabeth (2016) The proangiogenic potential of a novel calcium releasing biomaterial: Impact on cell recruitment Acta Biomaterialia 29:435â€445
5. Álvarez Z, Castaño O, Castells AA, Mateos-Timoneda MA, Planell JA, Engel E, Alcántara S (2014) Neurogenesis and vascularization of the damaged brain using a lactate-releasing biomimetic scaffold. Biomaterials 3517:4769-4781.