The Influence of Matrix Properties on Growth and Morphogenesis of Human Pancreatic Ductal Epithelial Cells in 3D

A highly tunable synthetic biomimetic hydrogel platform was developed to study the growth and morphogenesis of pancreatic ductal epithelial cells (PDEC) under the influence of a myriad of instructive cues. A PDEC line, PANC-1, was used as a model system to illustrate the importance of matrix compositions on cell fate determination. PANC-1 is an immortalized ductal epithelial cell line widely used in the study of pancreatic tumor cell behaviors. PANC-1 cells are also increasingly explored as a potential cell source for endocrine differentiation. Thus far, most studies related to PANC-1, among other PDEC lines, are performed on 2D culture surfaces. Here, we evaluated the effect of matrix compositions on PANC-1 cell growth and morphogenesis in 3D. Specifically, PANC-1 cells were encapsulated in PEG-based hydrogels prepared by step-growth thiol-ene photopolymerization. It was found that thiol-ene hydrogels provided a cytocompatible environment for encapsulation and 3D culture of PANC-1 cells. In contrast to a monolayer morphology on 2D culture surfaces, PANC-1 cells formed clusters in 3D thiol-ene hydrogels within 4 days of culture. After culturing for 10 days, however, the growth and structures of these clusters were significantly impacted by gel matrix properties, including sensitivity of the matrix to proteases, stiffness of the matrix, and ECM-mimetic motifs. The use of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) sensitive linker or the immobilization of fibronectin-derived RGDS ligand in the matrix promoted PANC-1 cell growth and encouraged them to adopt ductal cyst-like structures. On the other hand, the encapsulated cells formed smaller and more compact aggregates in non-MMP responsive gels. The incorporation of laminin-derived YIGSR peptide did not enhance cell growth and caused the cells to form compact aggregates. Immobilized YIGSR also enhanced the expression of epithelial cell markers including β-catenin and E-cadherin. These studies have established PEG-peptide hydrogels formed by thiol-ene photo-click reaction as a suitable platform for studying and manipulating pancreatic epithelial cell growth and morphogenesis in 3D.