Biomimicking Robust Hydrogel for the Mesenchymal Stem Cell Carrier

This study was aimed to develop a hydrogel-nanofiber as an advanced carrier for adipose derived human mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) and evaluate its potential for immunomodulatory therapies applicable to surface coating of drug eluting stent (DES) against coronary artery diseases (CAD). A mixture of dispersing-nanofibers (dNFs) and poly (ethylene glycol)-diacrylate (PEGDA) were blended with sodium alginate to achieve robust mechanical strength. The effects of stem cell niche on cell viability and proliferation rates were evaluated using LDH assay and alamar blue assay, respectively. The amount of Nile-red microparticles (NR-MPs) remained in the hydrogel scaffolds was examined as an index for the physical strength of hydrogels. To evaluate the immunomodulatory activity of AD-MSCs as well as their influence by ROS, the level of (L)-Kynurenine was determined as tryptophan replacement compounds in parallel with IDO secreted from AD-MSCs using a colorimetric assay of (L)-amino acid. Both SA-cys-PEG and SA-cys-dNF-PEG upon being coated on stents using electrophoretic deposition technique displayed superior mechanical properties against the perfused flow. d-NFs had a significant impact on the stability of SA-cys-dNF-PEG, as evidenced by the substantial amount of NR-MPs remained in them. An enhanced subcellular level of ROS by spheroidal cluster yielded the high concentrations of (L)-Kynurenine (1.67 +/- 0.6 mu M without H2O2, 5.2 +/- 1.14 mu M with 50 mu M of H2O2 and 8.8 +/- 0.51 mu M with 100 mu M of H2O2), supporting the IDO-mediated tryptophan replacement process. The "mud-and-straw" hydrogels are robust in mechanical property and can serve as an ideal niche for AD-MSCs with immunomodulatory effects.