Different influence of sulfated chitosan with different sulfonic acid group sites on HUVECs behaviors

The vascularization within the scaffold is still a significant challenge in tissue engineering applications. Sulfated chitosan (SCS) as an amazing substance have been used in tissue engineering to stimulate angiogenesis. However, it is not clear whether they have difference in the ability to promote vascularization of SCS with different sulfonic acid group sites. The aim of this study was to evaluate human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) viability and differentiation in vitro, affected by three types of sulfated chitosan' i.e. 2-N-6-O-sulfated chitosan (2,6-SCS), 3'6-O-sulfated chitosan (3,6-SCS) and 6-O-sulfated chitosan (6-SCS). The results are showed that all the SCS possesses excellent biological properties to promote HUVECs viability and proliferation. Especially, 2,6-SCS promotes desirable intracellular nitric oxide secretion and capillary tube formation. Meanwhile, 2,6-SCS up-regulate the related gene and protein expression compared with other sulfonic acid group sites SCS and heparin. Therefore, 2,6-SCS is a promising substitute material for angiogenesis and as aqueous formulation can be employed to fabrication functionalization scaffold surface with promoted angiogenesis.