One general problem in tissue engineering applications is to yield a high cell mass with the correct differentiation phenotype at the location of need. The application of microcarriers to address this issue started in 1967 with increasing significance to date in fields such as orthopaedic tissue engineering for large-scale generation of skin, bone, cartilage, and tendons1. They allow the handling of adherent cultures in ways similar to that of suspension cultures2 by expanding cells on microscale three-dimensional (3D) substrates. Thereby cells experience a homogeneous nutrient supply and cell-matrix interactions that lead to better maintenance of in vivo3,4 differentiation which is often lost over time in 2D approaches5. A higher surface-to-volume ratio - eventually leading to higher cell yields6,7, higher gas and nutrient exchange rates comparing to static systems8, the possibility to regulate and subject the culture to physical stimuli9, and the potential for scaling up of the expansion process7 are further advantages. Several features such as diameter, density, porosity, surface charge, and adhesion properties10,11 distinguish the different commercially available micro- and macro-carriers. However, one of the main advantage is their delivery potential as microtissues to site defect or demand.
For applications of the microcarrier technology in bone tissue engineering, we illustrated in a previous report12 the production of a new microcarrier type constituted of a recombinant collagen I peptide (RCP, commercially available as Cellnest). This new microcarrier allows the GMP-compliant up scaling of scaffold and cell production, as needed for cell delivery in a clinical scenario. In this context, tuning of scaffold stability, degradation rate, and surface properties through proper choice of a suited crosslinking strategy allows to adapt the technique to the selected application, cell type of interest or target tissue13. In particular, the potential employment of this microcarrier as an injectable cell delivery system for therapeutic application14 makes them particularly interesting in a clinical setting.
In this paper, we therefore illustrate the culturing procedure for the isolation and expansion of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs) and human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMECs) on collagen-I-based recombinant peptide-based microcarriers, and their preparation for delivery in a clinical setting. Furthermore, we describe additional protocols useful for the maintenance of cell viability upon implantation.
Cell viability after implantation is in fact strongly dependent on vascularization15,16,17, which ensures exchange of oxygen and nutrients and facilitates waste removal. Bioreactors constitute one approach to overcome vascularization challenges in tissue engineering and maintain cell viability, through perfusion of culture medium providing thereby oxygen and nutrients18. Here, we illustrate an in vitro method to evaluate the migration capability of microvascular endothelial cells from the RCP microcarriers to a biomatrix and their ability to contribute to the de novo vascularization and angiogenesis. This biomatrix is a decellularized segment of porcine jejunum termed BioVaSc (Biological Vascularized Scaffold), rich in collagen and elastin and with preserved vascular structures, which includes a feeding artery and a draining vein19 that has been applied for implantation issues20.