Spatial control of cell-mediated degradation to regulate vasculogenesis and angiogenesis in hyaluronon hydrogels

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014296121200556X

The authors make hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels cross-linked with a RGD containing peptides and MMP degradable peptides via conjugate addition to make "permissive gels" that could be degraded by cells. Gels were further cross-linked by exposure to UV light to initiate polymerization of remaining acrylate groups, making non-degradable kinetic chains; these gels were called "inhibitory." The authors found that permissive gels allowed endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) to undergo vascular morphogenesis, while ECFC cultured in inhibitory gels could only form vacuoles with no branching. Thus morphogenesis and vascularization could be spatial controlled within these gels by using photolithography.