Date of Graduation
5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Song, Young Hye
Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common condition and is characterized by traumatic and progressive damage that results in limited neuron regeneration and thus a restricted recovery. In SCI, the vasculature is also severely damaged, which exacerbates inflammation at the injury site. Specifically, insufficient angiogenesis occurs at the site of injury due to the fibrotic pathological microenvironment1 . SCI also leads to the formation of a fluid-filled cavity and thus gliosis and fibrosis, forming a dense glial and fibrotic scar around the cavity. The microenvironment at the injury site plays a significant role in astrocyte behavior, promoting the transformation of normal astrocytes to reactive astrocytes. Reactive astrocytes aid in glial scar formation, preventing axonal regeneration1 . Formation of fibrotic scar after SCI has been significantly understudied, so the effect of reactive astrocytes in fibrotic scarring is not completely understood2 . Using three-dimensional (3D) in vitro testbeds, the pathological environment can be replicated, which will allow us to study the behavior of astrocytes in a physiologically relevant microenvironment. By manipulating the environment through varied hydrogel ratios and gelation temperatures, we aim to explore the role of astrocytes in vascular remodeling in fibrotic scarring.
Keywords
tissue engineering, spinal cord injury
Citation
Gerber, D. (2023). Exploring the Effects of Microarchitecture on Astrocyte Behavior and Vascular Remodeling in Spinal Cord Injury. Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/bmeguht/139