Impact of Alginate Composition: From Bead Mechanical Properties to Encapsulated HepG2/C3A Cell Activities for In Vivo Implantation

Abstract

Recently, interest has focused on hepatocytes’ implantation to provide end stage liver failure patients with a temporary support until spontaneous recovery or a suitable donor becomes available. To avoid cell damage and use of an immunosuppressive treatment, hepatic cells could be implanted after encapsulation in a porous biomaterial of bead or capsule shape. The aim of this study was to compare the production and the physical properties of the beads, together with some hepatic cell functions, resulting from the use of different material combinations for cell microencapsulation: alginate alone or combined with type I collagen with or without poly-L-lysine and alginate coatings. Collagen and poly-L-lysine increased the bead mechanical resistance but lowered the mass transfer kinetics of vitamin B12. Proliferation of encapsulated HepG2/C3A cells was shown to be improved in alginate-collagen beads. Finally, when the beads were subcutaneously implanted in mice, the inflammatory response was reduced in the case of alginate mixed with collagen. This in vitro and in vivo study clearly outlines, based on a systematic comparison, the necessity of compromising between material physical properties (mechanical stability and porosity) and cell behavior (viability, proliferation, functionalities) to define optima hepatic cell microencapsulation conditions before implantation.

Cardiac and stem cell-cocooned hybrid microspheres: A multi factorial design approach

“…Furthermore, Sato et al [29] demonstrated that upregulation of collagen synthesis by ascorbic acid enhanced the differentiation embryonic stem cells into cardiomyocytes. This result suggests that [32] have demonstrated the efficacy of utilizing collagen and alginate microspheres for adipose tissue engineering and cell nurturing respectively.…”

Controlled Generation of Microspheres Incorporating Extracellular Matrix Fibrils for Three‐Dimensional Cell Culture

“…Capone et al report that alginate microspheres containing collagen produced using an air flow generator were 20 μm smaller than equivalently produced alginate microspheres. [31] Although Yao et al produced collagen-containing alginate microspheres, microsphere diameter was not reported. [32] To the best of our knowledge, no work has been carried out comparing microspheres composed of different alginate types and collagen.…”

Beneficial Effects of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells on Porcine Hepatocyte Viability and Albumin Secretion

“…The addition of PLL and collagen during encapsulation in alginate microcapsules prolonged viability and functionality, as demonstrated for cells of the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2/ C3A [9]. Further, coculture or coencapsulation with other cell types such as endothelial progenitor cells or fibroblasts showed enhanced viability and function of rat hepatocytes [10,11].…”