ArticleTissue engineering. Part A2013
Characterizing the effects of heparin gel stiffness on function of primary hepatocytes.
Article in Tissue engineering. Part A, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Strategies for the Selection and Application of Biological Scaffolds in Organ-on-a-Chip Systems.Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology · 2026Review
- Effects of PDMS culture on stem cell differentiation towards definitive endoderm and hepatocytes.Acta biomaterialia · 2025Article
- The impact of matrix stiffness on hepatic cell function, liver fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma-Based on quantitative data.Biophysics reviews · 2024Review
- Lipid droplets are intracellular mechanical stressors that impair hepatocyte function.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- In Vitro Models for the Study of Liver Biology and Diseases: Advances and Limitations.Cellular and molecular gastroenterology and hepatology · 2023Review
- Rat liver ECM incorporated into electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds as a platform for hepatocyte culture.Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials · 2022Article
- Bioactive hydrogel microcapsules for guiding stem cell fate decisions by release and reloading of growth factors.Bioactive materials · 2022Article
- Recent Advances in Liver Engineering With Decellularized Scaffold.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2022Review
- Elucidating Extracellular Matrix and Stiffness Control of Primary Human Hepatocyte Phenotype Via Cell Microarrays.Advanced materials interfaces · 2021Article
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- Matrix Softness-Mediated 3D Zebrafish Hepatocyte Modulates Response to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.Environmental science & technology · 2020Article
- The Role of the Microenvironment in Controlling the Fate of Bioprinted Stem Cells.Chemical reviews · 2020Review
- The Effect of Matrix Stiffness on Human Hepatocyte Migration and Function-An In Vitro Research.Polymers · 2020Article
- Generation of Scalable Hepatic Micro-Tissues as a Platform for Toxicological Studies.Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine · 2020Article
- Fibrillar Collagen Type I Participates in the Survival and Aggregation of Primary Hepatocytes Cultured on Soft Hydrogels.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Hepatic Differentiation of Stem Cells in 2D and 3D Biomaterial Systems.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- Current progress in hepatic tissue regeneration by tissue engineering.Journal of translational medicine · 2019Review
- Generation of Organized Porcine Testicular Organoids in Solubilized Hydrogels from Decellularized Extracellular Matrix.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Article
- Delivery of targeted gene therapies using a hybrid cryogel-coated prosthetic vascular graft.PeerJ · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
In the liver, hepatocytes are exposed to a large array of stimuli that shape hepatic phenotype. This in vivo microenvironment is lost when hepatocytes are cultured in standard cell cultureware, making it challenging to maintain hepatocyte function in vitro. Our article focused on one of the least studied inducers of the hepatic phenotype-the mechanical properties of the underlying substrate. Gel layers comprised of thiolated heparin (Hep-SH) and diacrylated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-DA) were formed on glass substrates via a radical mediated thiol-ene coupling reaction. The substrate stiffness varied from 10 to 110 kPa by changing the concentration of the precursor solution. ELISA analysis revealed that after 5 days, hepatocytes cultured on a softer heparin gel were synthesizing five times higher levels of albumin compared to those on a stiffer heparin gel. Immunofluorescent staining for hepatic markers, albumin and E-cadherin, confirmed that softer gels promoted better maintenance of the hepatic phenotype. Our findings point to the importance of substrate mechanical properties on hepatocyte function.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.