Porous poly- l -lactide-co-ɛ-caprolactone scaffold: a novel biomaterial for vaginal tissue engineering

Abstract

The surgical reconstruction of functional neovagina is challenging and susceptible to complications. Therefore, developing tissue engineering-based treatment methods for vaginal defects is important. Our aim was to develop and test a novel supercritical carbon dioxide foamed poly-l-lactide-co-ɛ-caprolactone (scPLCL) scaffold for vaginal reconstruction. The scaffolds were manufactured and characterized for porosity (65 ± 4%), pore size (350 ± 150 µm) and elastic modulus (2.8 ± 0.4 MPa). Vaginal epithelial (EC) and stromal cells (SC) were isolated, expanded and characterized with flow cytometry. Finally, cells were cultured with scPLCL scaffolds in separate and/or co-cultures. Their attachment, viability, proliferation and phenotype were analysed. Both cell types strongly expressed cell surface markers CD44, CD73 and CD166. Strong expression of CD326 was detected with ECs and CD90 and CD105 with SCs. Both ECs and SCs attached and maintained viability on scPLCL. Further, scPLCL supported the proliferation of especially ECs, which also maintained epithelial phenotype (cytokeratin expression) during 14-day assessment period. Interestingly, ECs expressed uroplakin (UP) Ia, UPIb and UPIII markers; further, UPIa and UPIII expression was significantly higher on ECs cultured on scPLCL than on cell culture plastic. In conclusion, the scPLCL is potential scaffold for vaginal tissue engineering and the results of this study further illustrate the excellent biocompatibility of PLCL.

Preclinical biological and physicochemical evaluation of two-photon engineered 3D biomimetic copolymer scaffolds for bone healing

“…15 Examples of biodegradable polymers that are resorbed overtime frequently used in regenerative medicine [16][17][18] include polyglycolic acid (PGA), polylactide (PLA), polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL), poly(D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) and additional copolymers and composites. 19,20 Although scaffold degradation is beneficial, undesired effects caused by degradation products via the formation of small chain carboxylic acids may change the local pH and cause inflammation 21,22 or in some cases as occurs within PLA, acidic degradation products may be toxic. 17 Methods developed for the production of these porous polymeric materials include electrospinning, phase separation and porogen leaching.…”

Tissue-engineered repair material for pelvic floor dysfunction

“…Four different PLA scaffolds with various degrees of fiber alignment were constructed to mimic the three-dimensional architecture of human fascia, and the results showed that the bulk density, Young’s modulus, and UTS were significantly increased from PLA-random to PLA-aligned scaffolds, and ADSCs grew well on scaffolds with aligned fibers, produced the largest amount of total collagen, and maintained the strength and stiffness without changes after 2 weeks of culture in vitro ( Roman et al, 2016 ). The scPLCL is a potential scaffold material for vaginal tissue engineering, vaginal epithelial (VE), and stromal cells (SCs) that attached and maintained viability on scPLCL ( Sartoneva et al, 2018 ). The comparison of PLGA/PCL films with different fiber diameters suggested that the fiber diameter affects cell behavior, mechanical properties, and cellular infiltration ECM deposition ( Vashaghian et al, 2016 ).…”

Emerging Nano/Micro-Structured Degradable Polymeric Meshes for Pelvic Floor Reconstruction

“…Macroporous PLCL scaffolds prepared by melt-extrusion have been shown to be biocompatible with vaginal stromal cells (SCs) and epithelial cells (ECs), and have therefore been applied for vaginal tissue engineering [ 161 ]. These scaffolds had pore sizes matching the stiffness of pre-menopausal women’s vaginas.…”