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Migration of Co-cultured Endothelial Cells and Osteoblasts in Composite Hydroxyapatite/Polylactic Acid Scaffolds

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Abstract

Regeneration of bone in large segmental bone defects requires regeneration of both cortical bone and trabecular bone. A scaffold design consisting of a hydroxyapatite (HA) ring surrounding a polylactic acid (PLA) core simulates the structure of bone and provides an environment for indirect and direct co-culture conditions. In this experiment, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (EC) and normal human primary osteoblasts (OB) were co-cultured to evaluate cell migration and interactions within this biphasic composite scaffold. Both cell types were able to migrate between the different material phases of the scaffold. It was also observed that OB migration increased when they were co-cultured with ECs, whereas EC migration decreased in co-culture. The results show that co-culture of ECs and OBs in this composite biphasic scaffold allows for migration of cells throughout the scaffold and that pre-seeding a scaffold with ECs can increase OB infiltration into desired areas of the scaffold.

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Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dr. Colleen Witt and the UTSA CBI for instruction and use of the confocal microscope and imaging software. This work was partially supported by NIH/RCMI grant 3G12RR013646-10S1. Work for this study was sponsored by the Department of the Army (Grant No. W81XWH-07-1-0717). The US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick, MD 21702-5014, USA, is the awarding and administering acquisition office. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army of the Department of Defense.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Amita R. Shah, Sunho Oh, Joo L. Ong & C. Mauli Agrawal

  2. US Army Institute of Surgical Research, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Amita R. Shah, Sarita R. Shah & Joseph C. Wenke

  3. Department of Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Amita R. Shah

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  1. Amita R. Shah
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  2. Sarita R. Shah
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  3. Sunho Oh
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  4. Joo L. Ong
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  6. C. Mauli Agrawal
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Correspondence to C. Mauli Agrawal.

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Associate Editor Scott I Simon oversaw the review of this article.

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Shah, A.R., Shah, S.R., Oh, S. et al. Migration of Co-cultured Endothelial Cells and Osteoblasts in Composite Hydroxyapatite/Polylactic Acid Scaffolds. Ann Biomed Eng 39, 2501–2509 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-011-0344-z

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