robotics-biomaterials-2018-scientifictracks

3 / 6

Page 14
Notes:
allied
academies
October 22-23, 2018 | Frankfurt, Germany
International Conference on
Robo t i c s a n d A u t oma t i o n
B iomater ial s and Nanomater ial s
Joint Event
&
Journal of Biomedical Research | Volume 29
The impact of intercellular communication in complex pre-vascularized tissue equivalents
Martin Heller
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
Apromising approach in reconstructive surgery for the
wound coverage after surgical interventions is the use of
artificially generated pre-vascularized tissue equivalents. In
our group we developed a pre-vascularized buccal mucosa
equivalent in a tri-culture of primary buccal epithelial cells,
fibroblasts and microvascular endothelial cells successfully,
based on the collagen matrix Bio-Gide® from Geistlich. A
successful pre-vascularization at superficial areas of the
matrix was demonstrated. However, so far the generation of
pre-vascularized structures within the tissue equivalent was
restricted to only superficial areas of the matrix. Besides the
great advances, it is not completely understood yet, why the
used endothelial cells did not migrate in depth of the tissue
equivalent in order to form vascular structures. To understand
the cell biological background for the reduced migration
willingness of endothelial cells, we investigated the intercellular
communication in monocultures and co-cultures of primary
microvascular endothelial cells and buccal fibroblasts based
on the collagen matrix Bio-Gide®. To achieve this objective we
analyzed the secretion patterns of relevant angiogenic factors
such as VEGF, Ang 1, Ang 2, bFGF and eNOS and evaluated their
effect on cellular parameters such as viability, proliferation,
migration and tube formation. The results showed complex
interactions of the investigated growth factors. A distinct
influence of the co-cultivation, the spatial separation and
the used collagen matrices on the expression patterns of the
primary cells could be demonstrated. The co-cultivation of
endothelial cells and fibroblasts led to increased levels of
VEGF, bFGF, eNOS and Ang-2 compared to the monocultures.
Interestingly, a spatial separation of the two cell types as well
as the cultivation on the used collagen matrices enhanced this
effect additionally. The gained results help us to understand
the cellular interaction in complex multi-cultures and may lead
to optimized cultivation approaches for tissue engineering of
complex tissues.
Speaker Biography
Martin Heller has completed his PhD in Biology at the Max Planck Institute of Polymer
Research Mainz in 2013. Afterwards he worked as Postdoc at the University Medical
Center of Mainz and started to study Medicine in April 2014. His focus of research is the
modification of biomaterials in the context of artificially generated tissue equivalents in
complex multi-cultures of primary human cells
e:
Martin Heller, Robotics & Biomaterials 2018, Volume 29
DOI: 10.4066/biomedicalresearch-C6-016