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Tissue‐engineered islet‐like cell clusters generated from adipose tissue‐derived stem cells on three‐dimensional electrospun scaffolds can reverse diabetes in an experimental rat model and the role of porosity of scaffolds on cluster differentiation
Author(s) -
Anitha Rakhi,
Vaikkath Dhanesh,
Shenoy Sachin J.,
Nair Prabha D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.36854
Subject(s) - islet , transplantation , materials science , tissue engineering , biomedical engineering , adipose tissue , electrospinning , mesenchymal stem cell , in vivo , 3d bioprinting , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , biophysics , insulin , medicine , biology , endocrinology , composite material , polymer
In the current study, three‐dimensional (3D) nanofibrous scaffolds with pore sizes in the range of 24–250 μm and 24–190 μm were fabricated via a two‐step electrospinning method to overcome the limitation of obtaining three‐dimensionality with large pore sizes for islet culture using conventional electrospinning. The scaffolds supported the growth and differentiation of adipose‐derived mesenchymal stem cells to islet‐like clusters (ILCs). The pore size of the scaffolds was found to influence the cluster size, viability and insulin release of the differentiated islets. Hence, islet clusters of the desired size could be developed for transplantation to overcome the loss of bigger islets due to hypoxia which adversely impacts the outcome of transplantation. The tissue‐engineered constructs with ILC diameter of 50 μm reduced glycemic value within 3–4 weeks after implantation in the omental pouch of diabetic rats. Detection of insulin in the serum of implanted rats demonstrates that the tissue‐engineered construct is efficient to control hyperglycemia. Our findings prove that the 3D architecture and pore size of scaffolds regulates the morphology and size of islets during differentiation which is critical in the survival and function of ILCs in vitro and in vivo .