Otimização do protocolo de diferenciação de células-tronco embrionárias murinas para tecido epitelial alveolar em microgravidade modelada utilizando colágeno como matriz de microencapsulamento

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. Approaches using tissue engineering to treat this condition have recently gained prominence in the academic community. A viable source of pluripotent stem cells, as well as highly efficient differentiation protocols is needed to support the regeneration of injured alveoli. Culture of embryonic stem cells in three-dimension microencapsulated hydrogels in modeled microgravity has recently been shown to be more effective for the differentiation of alveoli epithelium cells than standard two-dimensional protocols. Given this protocol, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a new encapsulation matrix made of collagen type I compared to standard encapsulation material of alginate for the differentiation and growth of mouse embryonic stem cells (E14 12 delta S) towards alveoli epithelium phenotype using A549-cells conditioned medium as inducer of the differentiation. Was performed a physical-chemical characterization of the new hydrogel material (drying deformation, water percentage, topographical analysis and molecular transport kinetics analysis) as well as the growth of cellular aggregates and total number of viable cells at the end of the experiment. Gene markers were analyzed for endoderm differentiation (FOXA2, SOX17 and CXCR4) and alveoli epithelial tissue (SPA, SPB and SPC) at the middle and at the end of the experiment. The new material shows an enhanced mass transport ability due to its own porously and hydrophilic structure nature with well-defined apparent fibers. Cells exhibited a higher growth curve as well as a higher total number of viable cells at the end of the experiment. Genetic analysis for markers of endoderm showed that new collagen matrix apparently provides a faster endoderm differentiation than the alginate matrix, and starts the apparent expression of alveolar epithelium markers (SPA and SPB, but not SPC) sooner. This work showed that collagen type I microcapsules are apparently a better matrix for growth and differentiation in modeled microgravity of embryonic stem cells for in vitro production of alveolar epithelial cells.