Interpenetrating Network of Alginate–Human Adipose Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel for Islet Cells Encapsulation

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 41; no. 21; pp. e2000275 - n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Jun Kit, Cheam, Nicole Mein Ji, Irvine, Scott Alexander, Tan, Nguan Soon, Venkatraman, Subbu, Tay, Chor Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-11-2020
• Subjects: adipose tissue extracellular matrix hydrogel; alginate; Alginates; Alginic acid; Biomimetic materials; Cell culture; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); Encapsulation; Extracellular matrix; Gelation; Hydrogels; Insulin; Interpenetrating networks; interpenetrating polymer networks; Islet cells; islet cells microencapsulation; Microcapsules; Microencapsulation; Pancreas; Pancreatic islet transplantation; Pepsin; Transplantation; type 1 diabetes mellitus; Xenotransplantation
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.202000275

Transplantation of microencapsulated islet cells holds great potential for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus. However, its clinical translation is hampered by the peri‐transplantation loss of islet viability and functionality in the microcapsules. In this work, a novel islet cells biomimetic microencapsulant material that is based on the interpenetrating networks of alginate and extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogel composite (AEC) is presented. The ECM component is derived from human lipoaspirate. In situ encapsulation of pancreatic β islet cells (MIN6 β‐cells) can be achieved via ionotropic gelation of the alginate matrix and thermal‐induced gelation of the pepsin‐solubilized ECM pre‐gel. Due to the enhanced cell–matrix interaction, islets encapsulated within the AEC microcapsules (≈640 µm) display sevenfold increase in cell growth over 1 week of culture and characteristic glucose‐stimulated insulin response in vitro. The results show that the AEC microcapsule is a potent platform to bioaugment the performance of islet cells.
The development of a novel interpenetrating polymer networks hydrogel comprising alginate enriched with lipoaspirate‐derived extracellular matrix serves as a promising biomimetic microencapsulant platform for the treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus with improved viability, growth, and glucose response of the encapsulated islet cells, and amenable for other cell‐based therapies.