Development of vascularized adipose tissue construct based on adipose tissue extracellular matrix and silk fibroin


Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Mühendislik Bilimleri Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2015

Öğrenci: ALİŞAN KAYABÖLEN

Danışman: AYŞEN TEZCANER

Özet:

Adipose tissue engineering is a promising field for regeneration of soft tissue defects. However, vascularization is needed since cells in the middle layer of thick implants cannot reach to nutrient and oxygen by diffusion. Finding a biocompatible scaffold with good mechanical properties is another problem in this field. In this study, we aimed to develop a thick functional vascularized adipose tissue which supports cell viability and functionality with similar mechanical properties with the adipose tissue. For this purpose, hydrogels were prepared by mixing human decellularized adipose tissue (DAT) and silk fibroin at different ratios. Then, both preadipocytes and endothelial-like cells pre-differentiated from rat adipose derived stem cells (ASCs) were encapsulated in hydrogels. In vitro analyses showed that hydrogels with 1:3 (v/v) DAT:Fibroin ratio support cell viability. ASCs pre-differentiated into adipogenic lineage for 1 week started to accumulate lipid vesicles, and ones pre-differentiated into endothelial lineage formed capillary-like structures inside hydrogel only after 3 days of encapsulation. This mixture was shown to be gelated in vivo too, and implanted subcutaneously. No severe immunological response or significant degradation of the hydrogels was observed in histopathological analysis 3 days postimplantation. Histology results for 3 weeks showed that hydrogel was degraded from outside, and capillaries reached to the center of hydrogel. In vivo analysis of cell encapsulated hydrogels are under study. Based on in vitro and in vivo results 1:3 - DAT:Fib hydrogels hold promise for adipose tissue engineering applications.