BEHAVIOR OF RENAL HEK293 CELLS ON HYDROGELS BASED ON POLY-N-ISOPROPYL ACRYLAMIDE (PNIPAM)

CAPELLA, VIRGINIA; LIAUDAT, ANA CECILIA; RIVERO, REBECA E.; BARBERO, CÉSAR A.; BOSCH, PABLO; RIVAROLA, CLAUDIA R.; RODRIGUEZ, NANCY

Congreso; IV Joint Meeting of The Biology Societies of Argentina; 2021

Sociedad Argentina de Biología

Synthetic or natural hydrogels have mechanical properties and physicochemical characteristics that simulate the properties of the extracellular matrix (EMC) of body tissues, providing an environment that mimics the native cellular milieus and allows cell growth and adhesion. Hydrogels based on poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) and their co-polymers have attracted a great attention in the biomedical field due to their biocompatibility, smooth texture, and absence of cytotoxicity against several cell lines, characteristics that would allow tissue development. Based on this background, the aim of this study focused on evaluating the biocompatibility of PNIPAM and co-polymers surfaces with the HEK293 cell line, constituted by human embryonic kidney cells, underin vitro conditions. Cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, proliferation, adhesion, and cellular mitotic/fragmentation relation in contact with surfaces of PNIPAM and co-polymers with neutral or ionic characteristics in different proportions were carried out viability and proliferation assays did not show cytotoxic or antiproliferative effects in the presence of any hydrogels studied. No DNA damage or cell cycle abnormalities were detected with PNIPAM. The adopted morphologies by cells on the surfaces, during cell growth and adhesion, varied with the physical-chemical properties of the materials and with the days of culture. Cytoplasmic and nuclear alterations were observed on hydrogels with the highest anionic and cationic charge. Similar results were observed in the mitotic/fragmentation relation. However, the cells seeded on the surfaces of PNIPAM and the co-polymers with a lower percentage of ionic monomer showed a very good compatibility. Therefore, these materials can be good renal cells scaffolds with clinical potential in the tissue engineering area.