16 / 16
allied
academies
Page 69
Notes:
May 20-21, 2019 | Vienna, Austria
Biomaterials and Nanomaterials &
Materials Physics and Materials Science
2
nd
International Conference on
Journal of Materials Science and Nanotechnology | Volume 3
Influence of polyacrylamide hydrogel stiffness on podocyte morphology, phenotype
and mechanical properties
Maya Abdallah
University of Montpellier, France
C
hronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by a
gradual decline in renal function that progresses
toward end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Podocytes are
highly specialized glomerular epithelial cells, which form
with the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) and
capillary endothelium, the glomerular filtration barrier
(GFB). GBM is an extracellular matrix (ECM) that acts as
a mechanical support and provides biophysical signals
that control normal podocytes behavior in the process of
glomerular filtration. Thus, the modulus of elasticity E or
stiffness of “ECM” represents an essential characteristic
that controls podocyte functions. The biophysical
properties of hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide (PAAm) gels
resemble to in vivo ECM and thus provide an opportunity
to be applied as ECM-like membranes to study cellular
behaviors. Therefore, hydrolyzed PAAm hydrogels were
investigated for their potential use as new ECM-like
constructs to engineer a basement membrane that form
with cultured human podocytes a functional glomerular-
like filtration barrier. Such ECM-like polyacrylamide
hydrogel construct will provide the unique opportunity
of understanding in an in vivo-like setting podocyte cells
biological responses by controlling the physical properties
of the PAAm membranes. In this work, several PAAm
hydrogel layers were prepared by changing the crosslinker
concentration. The macromolecular microstructure and
stiffness were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) techniques
respectively. Accordingly, the mechanical properties
and the polymeric network porosity can be effectively
controlled by modulating the crosslinker concentration
as well as the swelling degree. Moreover, modulating
gel stiffness significantly influenced podocyte behavior
including morphology, actin cytoskeleton reorganization.
In conclusion, podocytes response to the variation of
the mechanical properties of the membranes correlated
with the hydrogel’s stiffness. This work addresses the
complexity of podocytes behavior which will further
enhance our knowledge to develop a kidney-on-chip
model much needed to study kidney function in both
health and disease states.
e
:
maya.abdallah@etu.umontpellier.fr