Porous PLLA scaffolds are optimal substrates for internal colonization by A6 mesoangioblastsand immunocytochemical analyses

In the present paper, mouse mesoangioblasts were seeded onto bidimensional matrices andwithin three-dimensional porous scaffolds of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA), in the presence or absence oftype I collagen coating, observed under the scanning electron microscope, and tested for their adhesion,survival and proliferation. Immunolocalization of Hsp70, an abundant and ubiquitous intracellularprotein in these cells, was also performed in sectioned cell-containing scaffolds under the confocalfluorescence microscope to check whether "in situ" analysis of intracellular constituents was feasible.The data obtained show that PLLA films allow direct cell adhesion and represent an optimal supportfor cell growth, and that the internal surfaces of PLLA polymeric sponges can be colonized bymesoangioblasts which can be submitted to "in situ" confocal microscopic analyses for possiblemonitoring of time-dependent expression of differentiation markers.