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Electrospun Scaffold Micro-Architecture Induces an Activated Transcriptional Phenotype within Tendon Fibroblasts.

ABSTRACT: Biomaterial augmentation of surgically repaired rotator cuff tendon tears aims to improve the high failure rates (∼40%) of traditional repairs. Biomaterials that can alter cellular phenotypes through the provision of microscale topographical cues are now under development. We aimed to systematically evaluate the effect of topographic architecture on the cellular phenotype of fibroblasts from healthy and diseased tendons. Electrospun polydioxanone scaffolds with fiber diameters ranging from 300 to 4000 nm, in either a highly aligned or random configuration, were produced. Healthy tendon fibroblasts cultured for 7 days on scaffolds with highly aligned fibers demonstrated a distinctive elongated morphology, whilst those cultured on randomly configured fibers demonstrated a flattened and spread morphology. The effect of scaffold micro-architecture on the transcriptome of both healthy and diseased tendon fibroblasts was assessed with bulk RNA-seq. Both healthy (n = 3) and diseased tendon cells (n = 3) demonstrated a similar transcriptional response to architectural variants. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that large diameter (≥2000 nm) aligned scaffolds induced an upregulation of genes involved in cellular replication and a downregulation of genes defining inflammatory responses and cell adhesion. Similarly, PDPN and CD248, markers of inflammatory or "activated" fibroblasts, were downregulated during culture of both healthy and diseased fibroblasts on aligned scaffolds with large (≥2000 nm) fiber diameters. In conclusion scaffold architectures resembling that of disordered type III collagen, typically present during the earlier phases of wound healing, resulted in tendon fibroblast activation. Conversely, scaffolds mimicking aligned diameter collagen I fibrils, present during tissue remodelling, did not activate tendon derived fibroblasts. This has implications for the design of scaffolds used during rotator cuff repair augmentation.

SUBMITTER: Baldwin MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8790033 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The rotator cuff consists of several tendons and muscles that provide stability and force transmission in the shoulder joint. Whereas most rotator cuff tears are amenable to suture repair, the overall success rate of repair is low, and massive tears are prone to re-tear. Extracellular matrix (ECM) patches are used to augment suture repair, but they have limitations. Tissue-engineered approaches provide a promising solution for massive rotator cuff tears. Previous studies have shown that, compared to nonaligned scaffolds, aligned electrospun polymer scaffolds exhibit greater anisotropy and exert a greater tenogenic effect. Nevertheless, achieving rapid cell infiltration through the full thickness of the scaffold is challenging, and scaling to a translationally relevant size may be difficult. Our goal was to evaluate whether a novel method of alignment, combining a multilayered electrospinning technique with a hybrid of several electrospinning alignment techniques, would permit cell infiltration and collagen deposition through the thickness of poly(ε-caprolactone) scaffolds following seeding with human adipose-derived stem cells. Furthermore, we evaluated whether multilayered aligned scaffolds enhanced collagen alignment, tendon-related gene expression, and mechanical properties compared to multilayered nonaligned scaffolds. Both aligned and nonaligned multilayered scaffolds demonstrated cell infiltration and ECM deposition through the full thickness of the scaffold after only 28days of culture. Aligned scaffolds displayed significantly increased expression of tenomodulin compared to nonaligned scaffolds and exhibited aligned collagen fibrils throughout the full thickness, the presence of which may account for the increased yield stress and Young's modulus of cell-seeded aligned scaffolds along the axis of fiber alignment.Statement of significanceRotator cuff tears are an important clinical problem in the shoulder, with over 300,000 surgical repairs performed annually. Re-tear rates may be high, and current methods used to augment surgical repair have limited evidence to support their clinical use due to inadequate initial mechanical properties and slow cellular infiltration. Tissue engineering approaches such as electrospinning have shown similar challenges in previous studies. In this study, a novel technique to align electrospun fibers while using a multilayered approach demonstrated increased mechanical properties and development of aligned collagen through the full thickness of the scaffolds compared to nonaligned multilayered scaffolds, and both types of scaffolds demonstrated rapid cell infiltration through the full thickness of the scaffold.

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Electrospun Scaffold Micro-Architecture Induces an Activated Transcriptional Phenotype within Tendon Fibroblasts.

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