No.11（2016）8.Cell-sheet transportation system using a gelatin with improved gelation temperature as a cell protection material

Yoshimi Ohyabu，Masataka Ida，Hirosuke Hatayama，Shunji Yunoki，Yosuke Hiraoka

  Regenerative medicine using living cells frequently employs "cell-sheet engineering", which fabricates cell monolayer for transplantation. When the cell monolayers are transported among facilities, the quality of the cells degrades easily due to shear stress. To address this issue, we fabricated a gelatin (HTG) with a gelation temperature (Tg) that is much higher than that of previous gelatins, and developed a novel cell-sheet transplantation system using HTG as a cell protection material. In order to achieve protection using this HTG gel, this system allows cell-sheets to be collected by injecting HTG gel heated to 37 °C onto the cell-sheets from the top, transporting the cell-sheets without temperature control, and then dissolving the HTG gel at 37 °C. Using this method, cell-sheets containing NIH3T3 cells could be collected with a cell survival rate in excess of 90%. In contrast, a control experiment using a commercially available gelatin with a lower Tg failed to protect the cell-sheets because of a failure in preventing the cell-sheets from being detached from the dish before the gelation of the gelatin sol. The cell sheet transportation system using HTG is a promising system for establishing regenerative medicine.

Keywords
Gelatin, Cell transportation

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