RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Biocasting of an elastin-like recombinamer and collagen bi-layered model of the tunica adventitia and external elastic lamina of the vascular wall A1 González Pérez, Miguel A1 Camasão, Dimitria Bonizol A1 Mantovani, Diego A1 Alonso Rodrigo, Matilde A1 Rodríguez Cabello, José Carlos AB The development of techniques for fabricating vascular wall models will foster the development of preventiveand therapeutic therapies for treating cardiovascular diseases. However, the physical and biologicalcomplexity of vascular tissue represents a major challenge, especially for the design and the productionof off-the-shelf biomimetic vascular replicas. Herein, we report the development of a biocastingtechnique that can be used to replicate the tunica adventitia and the external elastic lamina of the vascularwall. Type I collagen embedded with neonatal human dermal fibroblast (HDFn) and an elastic click crosslinkable,cell-adhesive and protease-sensitive elastin-like recombinamer (ELR) hydrogel were investigatedas readily accessible and tunable layers to the envisaged model. Mechanical characterization confirmedthat the viscous and elastic attributes predominated in the collagen and ELR layers, respectively. In vitromaturation confirmed that the collagen and ELR provided a favorable environment for the HDFn viability,while histology revealed the wavy and homogenous morphology of the ELR and collagen layer respectively,the cell polarization towards the cell-attachment sites encoded on the ELR, and the enhancedexpression of glycosaminoglycan-rich extracellular matrix and differentiation of the embedded HDFn intomyofibroblasts. As a complementary assay, 30% by weight of the collagen layer was substituted with theELR. This model proved the possibility to tune the composition and confirm the versatile character of thetechnology developed, while revealing no significant differences with respect to the original construct.On-demand modification of the model dimensions, number and composition of the layers, as well as thetype and density of the seeded cells, can be further envisioned, thus suggesting that this bi-layered modelmay be a promising platform for the fabrication of biomimetic vascular wall models. PB The Royal Society of Chemistry SN 2047-4830 YR 2021 FD 2021 LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/47857 UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/47857 LA spa NO Biomater. Sci., 2021, 9, 3860–3874 NO Producción Científica DS UVaDOC RD 22-nov-2024