Cell biology

Biotechnology

Polymer chemistry

Biology

Biomedical engineering

Materials science

Tissue engineering

Vimentin

Computer science

Embedding

Immunology

In vivo

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Ex vivo

Self-healing hydrogels

Internal medicine

Artificial intelligence

Medicine

Chemistry

Immunohistochemistry

Ethylene glycol

Lung

American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology

Maintaining the three-dimensional architecture and cellular complexity of lung tissue ex vivo can enable elucidation of the cellular and molecular pathways underlying chronic pulmonary diseases. Precision-cut lung slices (PCLS) are one human-lung model with the potential to support critical mechanistic studies and early drug discovery. However, many studies report short culture times of 7-10 days. Here, we systematically evaluated poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogel platforms for the encapsulation of PCLS. We demonstrated the ability to support ex vivo culture of embedded PCLS for at least 21 days compared with control PCLS floating in media. These customized hydrogels maintained PCLS architecture (no difference), viability (4.7-fold increase, P < 0.0001), and cellular phenotype as measured by SFTPC (1.8-fold increase, P < 0.0001) and vimentin expression (no change) compared with nonencapsulated controls. Collectively, these results demonstrate that hydrogel biomaterials support the extended culture times required to study chronic pulmonary diseases ex vivo using PCLS technology.

Embedding of Precision-Cut Lung Slices in Engineered Hydrogel Biomaterials Supports Extended <i>Ex Vivo</i> Culture

Embedding of Precision-Cut Lung Slices in Engineered Hydrogel Biomaterials Supports Extended Ex Vivo Culture