Summary
Published in Materials Today Bio (2025), this peer-reviewed study used 3D Petri Dish® micro-molds to form scaffold-free 3D microtissues. Full citation: Rocha, Filipe, et al. Low-dose ionizing radiation in vivo unlocks the therapeutic potential of prevascularized dermal spheroids in chronic wounds
Low-dose ionizing radiation in vivo unlocks the therapeutic potential of prevascularized dermal spheroids in chronic wounds
Research Overview
Chronic wounds, especially in diabetic patients, resist healing because of impaired angiogenesis and dysfunctional fibroblasts. This study tested a combination: low-dose ionizing radiation (0.3 Gy) with prevascularized spheroids of human dermal fibroblasts and endothelial colony-forming cells embedded in a xeno-free fibrin hydrogel.
In vitro, the radiation enhanced endothelial sprouting and fibroblast outgrowth from the spheroids without harming morphology or viability, and upregulated angiogenic and profibrotic markers including VEGFR2, CD31, VE-cadherin, COL4A2, α-SMA, TGF-β1, and LH2. Conditioned media from irradiated spheroids carried a proangiogenic secretome that significantly increased neovascularization in the chorioallantoic membrane assay.
Key Discoveries
- 0.3 Gy irradiation boosted sprouting and outgrowth from fibroblast-endothelial spheroids without loss of viability
- Upregulated VEGFR2, CD31, VE-cadherin, COL4A2, α-SMA, TGF-β1, and LH2
- Irradiated-spheroid secretome significantly increased neovascularization in the CAM assay
