The Manipulation of Cell Response by Scaffolds’ 3-dimensional Pore Architecture

Collagen scaffolds have been extensively used in tissue engineering to grow a variety of tissues. However, the effect of scaffolds complex 3-dimensional inner architecture on the cell performance and tissue formation has not been deeply investigated. We aim to grow cells within freeze-dried collagen scaffolds with tailored pore architectures, and to understand the structure-function relationship of these scaffolds in relation to cell performance. We produced scaffolds with randomly oriented (isotropic) or uniaxially aligned (anisotropic) pore architectures by manipulation of the freeze-drying conditions. We characterized the scaffolds’ structural, permeability and mechanical properties, and showed that pore architecture affected the cell invasion, proliferation and gene expression. Moreover, the remodelling of the engineered constructs was also structure-dependent. We suggest that deeper cell infiltration, along with more efficient medium perfusion within the anisotropic scaffolds account for these findings. However, the exact mechanism that dictates cell performance as function of pore architecture has yet to be established.