A tubular gelatin scaffold capable of the time-dependent controlled release of epidermal growth factor and mitomycin C

• A gelatin scaffold was fabricated for the time-dependent controlled release of EGF and MMC.
• The properties of scaffold vary with crosslinking degree.
• The scaffold affects the growth of two types of cocultured urethral cells.

A tubular gelatin scaffold for the time-dependent controlled release of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and mitomycin C (MMC) was fabricated. EGF was incorporated using silk fibroin carriers, and MMC was planted using polylactide (PLA) microspheres. The relationship between scaffold properties and crosslinking degrees was evaluated. As the crosslinking degree was increased from 23.7% to 65.3%, the mechanical properties of the scaffold obviously improved, and the compressive modulus increased to approximately 65 kPa. The mass degradation of the scaffold was also controlled from 9 days to approximately 1 month. In vitro release tests indicated that the scaffold mainly released EGF in the early period and MMC in the later period. Urethral epithelial cells (UECs) and urethral scar derived fibroblast cells (UFCs) were coseeded in the scaffold at a ratio of 1:1. After 9 days of coculture, immunostaining results displayed that the proportion of UECs continuously increased to approximately 71%. These changes in cell proportion were confirmed by the results of Western blot analysis. Therefore, the scaffold promoted the growth but inhibited the regeneration of UFCs. This scaffold for time-dependent controlled release of multiple biofactors may be potentially useful in urethral reconstruction and other tissue engineering studies.

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