How do cells interact with macroscopic pores in vitro?

What is it about?

Tissues contain living cells - when we want to repair tissues the structure that we make must support the survival of cells within. A problem is that cells use sugars and oxygen and produce waste - the access to the nearest blood-vessel, which provides this should thus be as free from obstacles as possible. This paper looked at pores that we can microfabricate into artificial tissues and how different cells interact with these. The results inform the design of tissue engineering constructs.

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Why is it important?

This is a first look at the interaction of astrocytes and fibroblasts with different pore structures and sizes in a biodegradable polymer - the results show that cell type has more influence than the size and structure of the pores - or the material of the construct. Over prolonged periods astrocytes can be maintained within a construct if the pores are large enough, whereas with fibroblasts over time even fairly large pores will be filled in with a small three-dimensional tissue.