The development of neo-tissues assisted by artificial scaffolds is continually progressing, but the reproduction of the extracellular environment surrounding cells is quite complex. While synthetic scaffolds can support cell growth, they lack biochemical cues that can prompt cell proliferation or differentiation. In this study, Wharton’s Jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells are seeded on a polyurethane (PU) scaffold combined with a hydrogel based on bovine serum albumin (BSA). BSA hydrogel is obtained through thermal treatment. While such treatment leads to partial unfolding of the protein, we show that the extent of denaturation is small enough to maintain its bioactivity, such as protein binding. Therefore, BSA provides a suitable playground for cells inside the scaffold, allowing higher spreading, proliferation and matrix secretions. Furthermore, the poor mechanical properties of the hydrogel are compensated for by the porous PU scaffold, whose architecture is well controlled. We show that even though PU by itself can allow cell adhesion and protein secretion, cell proliferation is 3.5 times higher in the PU + BSA scaffolds as compared to pure PU after 21 d, along with the non-collagenous protein secretions (389 versus 134 μmmg ⁻¹). Conversely, the secretion of sulphated glycosaminoglycans is 12.3-fold higher in the scaffold made solely of PU. Thereby, we propose a simple approach to generating a hybrid material composed of a combination of PU and BSA hydrogel as a promising scaffold for tissue regeneration.

人工支架辅助的新组织的发展不断取得进展，但细胞周围的细胞外环境的复制相当复杂。虽然合成支架可以支持细胞生长，但它们缺乏可以促进细胞增殖或分化的生化线索。在这项研究中，沃顿商学院的果冻来源的间充质干细胞被接种在聚氨酯 (PU) 支架上，并结合基于牛血清白蛋白 (BSA) 的水凝胶。BSA水凝胶是通过热处理获得的。虽然这种处理导致蛋白质部分展开，但我们表明变性程度足够小以维持其生物活性，例如蛋白质结合。因此，BSA 为支架内的细胞提供了一个合适的游乐场，允许更高的扩散、增殖和基质分泌。此外，多孔PU支架弥补了水凝胶较差的机械性能，其结构得到了很好的控制。我们表明，尽管 PU 本身可以允许细胞粘附和蛋白质分泌，但 21 天后，与纯 PU 相比，PU + BSA 支架中的细胞增殖以及非胶原蛋白分泌物（389 对 134μ mmg ^-1 )。相反，硫酸糖胺聚糖的分泌在仅由 PU 制成的支架中高出 12.3 倍。因此，我们提出了一种简单的方法来生成由 PU 和 BSA 水凝胶组合组成的混合材料，作为组织再生的有前途的支架。