Modulating electrospun polycaprolactone scaffold morphology and composition to alter endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenic gene response

The aim of this study was to look at how the composition and morphology of polymer scaffolds could be altered to create an optimized environment for endothelial cells. Four polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were electrospun with increasing fibre diameters ranging from 1.64 μm to 4.83 μm. The scaffolds were seeded with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) and cultured for 12 days. PCL scaffolds were then electrospun incorporating decellularized bovine aorta ECM and cultured in a hypoxic environment. We noted deeper cell infiltration on the largest fibre diameter compared to the other three scaffolds which resulted in an increase in the gene expression of CD31; a key angiogenic marker. Increased cell viability and cell proliferation were also noted on the largest fibre. Furthermore, we noted that the incorporation of extracellular matrix (ECM) had minimal effect on cell viability, both in normoxic and hypoxic culture conditions. Our results showed that these environments had limited influences on hypoxic gene expression. Interestingly, the major findings from this study was the production of excretory ECM components as shown in the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The results from this study suggest that fibre diameter had a bigger impact on the seeded HUVECs than the incorporation of ECM or the culture conditions. The largest fibre dimeter (4.83 μm) is more suitable for seeding of HUVECs.