Responses of human fetal mesenchymal stem cells to various poly(e-caprolactone) films: A comparison study

Poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) films have been applied for vascular tissue engineering. However, few studies studied the effects of fabrication process of PCL film on vascular cell proliferation. In this study, we used different processing methods, incorporating stretching, to fabricate various PCL films. Thickness of films before and after stretch and proliferation ability of human fetal mesenchymal stem cells (hfMSCs) on these films were investigated. Our results showed that stretching significantly reduces the thickness of solvent cast, heat press and cast stretch films (0.22×, 0.59×, 0.60×, p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.05) while increasing the thickness of electrospun fibrous film (1.27×). Heat-press PCL film maintains good stiffness after stretching. Cell testing results showed that fabrication method and stretching both affect the proliferation ability of hfMSCs. Heat-press PCL film after stretching, compared with other films, has moderate ability to allow hfMSCs proliferation. Using collagen coating as positive control, stretched heat-press PCL film shows comparable ability to allow hfMSCs adhesion and proliferation. In addition, earlier passage hfMSCs possess larger proliferation ability on stretched heat-press PCL film than later passage cells (1.34× – 1.58×, p < 0.01, p < 0.001). In conclusion, heat-press PCL film after stretching reduces the material usage and possesses good ability to allow hfMSCs adhesion and proliferation. Therefore, it could be a promising substrate for vascular tissue engineering applications.