CULTIVATION OF NEURAL CREST-DERIVED MULTIPOTENT STEM CELLS IN COLLAGEN AND FIBRIN HYDROGELS: EFFECTS ON CELL VIABILITY AND PROLIFERATION

The possibility of culture of neural crest-derived multipotent stem cells in 3D collagen and fibrin hydrogels has been shown. The effects on cell viability and growth have been explored. It is shown that both hidrogels contribute to cell adhesion and spreading. During culture it maintains high cell viability in both types of hydrogels as well as network formation of the interconnected cells. When cultured for two weeks in a collagen hydrogel cell number increased by 1.4 fold, while the fibrin hydrogel shows almost a threefold increase in cell number. The results obtained can be used for development of neural crest-derived multipotent stem cell-based tissue-engineered constructs.