Three-dimensional collagen/elastin scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering: influence of static and dynamic conditions on bio-mechanical performances

Due to the ideal biological properties, the use of natural materials for vascular tissue engineering applications represents the gold standard.We present a collagen/elastin three-dimensional scaffold, with ideal biological properties, able to maintain the contractile phenotype of smoothmuscle cells.Moreover, the bio-mechanical performances have been improved bymechanical stimulation in a bioreactor. Materials and methods: Collagen type I was mixed with a suspension of water soluble elastin obtained by recombinant DNA technology. Murine myoblasts (C2C12) and human aortic smooth cells (HAEC) were added to the collagen/elastin matrix and the suspension was poured in a cylindrical mold.A bioreactor (Bose Corp, USA) was used to set up the shear stress. Proteins expression involved in cells proliferation, differentiation and extracellular matrix remodeling was investigated. The Instron 5564 testing Instruments (Instron Corporation, USA) was used for mechanical tests.