Rapid transfer of endothelial cell sheet using a thermosensitive hydrogel and its effect on therapeutic angiogenesis

In this study, thermosensitive hydrogels incorporated with multiple cell-interactive factors were developed as a substrate to form monolayer of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) that can be detached and transferrable to target sites as a cell-sheet in response to temperature change. The cell adhesive peptide (RGD) and growth factor (bFGF) covalently incorporated within the hydrogel significantly enhanced adhesion and proliferation of HUVECs, allowing for the formation of their confluent monolayer. Meanwhile, the precisely controllable change in the size of the hydrogels was observed by a repeated increase and decrease in temperature from 37 to 4 °C. By exploiting this unique behavior, the detachment and transfer of HUVEC sheet confluently cultured at 37 °C was rapidly induced within 10 min by expansion of the hydrogels when the temperature was decreased to 4 °C. The transferred cell sheet was highly viable and maintained robust cell-cell junction. Finally, the process of cell sheet transfer was directly applied onto an ischemic injury in the hind limb of mice. The transplanted HUVECs as a sheet retarded tissue necrosis over 14 days in comparison with that of direct injection of the same number of cells. Our results suggest that the developed multifunctional Tetronic-tyramine hydrogels could serve as an ideal substrate to modulate the formation of an endothelial cell layer that could potentially be utilized to treat peripheral arterial disease.