Advanced Bio-Based Polymers for Astrocyte Cell Models

Abstract

The development of in vitro neural tissue analogs is of great interest for many biomedical engineering applications, including the tissue engineering of neural interfaces, treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, and in vitro evaluation of cell–material interactions. Since astrocytes play a crucial role in the regenerative processes of the central nervous system, the development of biomaterials that interact favorably with astrocytes is of great research interest. The sources of human astrocytes, suitable natural biomaterials, guidance scaffolds, and ligand patterned surfaces are discussed in the article. New findings in this field are essential for the future treatment of spinal cord and brain injuries.

Neuroinflammation and Scarring After Spinal Cord Injury: Therapeutic Roles of MSCs on Inflammation and Glial Scar

“…The lesion core contains a mixture of activated fibroblasts, monocyte macrophages, and extracellular matrix proteins ( Figure 3 ) ( 106 ). Astrocytes are the most abundant glial cells in the CNS and play an important role in regulating blood flow, maintaining the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, modulating the plasticity and function of synapses, and keeping the balance of neuronal microenvironment ( 107 , 108 ). After SCI, astrocytes will proliferate, hypertrophy and gradually migrate along the edge of the severely damaged tissue, interweaving around the lesion center to form the main component of glial scar ( 109 – 111 ).…”

Fabrication and Characterization of Quad-Component Bioinspired Hydrogels to Model Elevated Fibrin Levels in Central Nervous Tissue Scaffolds

“…An inherent challenge in advancing biomaterials for astrocyte research lies in achieving a physiological cell morphology during culture [ 47 ]. In alignment with this challenge and our final goal, we performed a qualitative analysis of human astrocyte morphology within the mIPN 12 scaffold, characterized by its four components and the highest fibrin concentration.…”

Biofabrication methods for reconstructing extracellular matrix mimetics

“…As for the material composition, both natural and synthetic materials have been employed to mimic the brain extracellular matrix (ECM). Natural polymers used for this purpose include collagen, gelatin, hyaluronic acid, agarose, alginate, fibrin, and chitosan [ 257 , [310] , [311] , [312] ]. The synthetic materials include polycaprolactone, poly- l -Lactic acid, poly-D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid, and conductive polymers such as polypyrrole (PPy) [ [285] , [310] , [311] , [312] ].…”