Combination of Fibrin Hydrogels and Matrigel Enhance Par-C10 Acinar Differentiation

Saliva plays a major role in maintaining oral health. Patients with decreased saliva secretion (symptomatically, xerostomia) exhibit difficulty in chewing and swallowing foods, tooth decay, periodontal disease and microbial infections. Despite recent improvements in treating dry mouth (e.g., saliva stimulants, saliva substitutes and gene therapy), few improvements have occurred which can be clinically applied toward complete restoration of compromised salivary gland function. Objectives: To analyze cell shape and tight junction expression of the immortalized rat parotid gland cell line Par-C10 when grown on different extracellular matrices. Methods: Single Par-C10 cells were grown on fibrin hydrogels alone or with Matrigel as follows: Fibrin hydrogels in the bottom of a coverglass with Matigel on top or vice versa or a mixture of fibrin hydrogels and Matrigel coated the coverglass as one matrix. Cells were allowed to grow during 5 days. Then, cells were analyzed by confocal microscopy using goat anti-rabbit anti-ZO-1 followed by AlexaFluor 488-conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG stain, Hoescht nuclear stain and Phalloidin 594-conjugated. XY images were obtained and analyzed using a Carl Zeiss 510 confocal microscope. Results: Par-C10 cells grown on fibrin hydrogels and Matrigel combinations formed differentiated acinar structures while cells grown on fibrin hydrogels alone formed less differentiated monolayers. Conclusions: Our studies indicate that Matrigel may provide growth factors necessary for cells grown on fibrin hydrogels to reach cell differentiation. Future studies will supplement fibrin hydrogels with factors present on Matrigel to enhance salivary cell differentiation.