Perilipin expression reveals adipogenic potential of hADSCs inside superporous polymeric cellular delivery systems

Recent progress in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine envisages the use of cell-scaffold bioconstructs to best mimic the natural in vivo microenvironment. Our aim was not only to develop novel 3D porous scaffolds for regenerative applications by the association of gelatin (G), alginate (A), and polyacrylamide (PAA) major assets but also to evaluate their in vitro potential to support human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) adipogenesis. G-A-PAA biomatrix investigated in this work is an interesting substrate combining the advantages of the three individual constituents, namely, biodegradability of G, hydrophilicity of A and PAA, superior elasticity at compression with respect to the G-A and PAA controls, and the capacity to generate porous scaffolds. hADSCs inside these novel interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) were able to populate the entire scaffold structure and to display their characteristic spindle-like shape as a consequence of a good interaction with G component of the matrices. Additionally, hADSCs proved to display the capacity to differentiate towards mature adipocytes, to accumulate lipids inside their cytoplasm, and to express perilipin late adipogenic marker inside novel IPNs described in this study. On long term, this newly designed biomatrix aims to represent a stem cell delivery system product dedicated for modern regenerative strategies.