Evaluation of PVA hydrogel as an extracellular matrix for in vitro study of fibroblast proliferation

Synthetic 3 D extracellular matrix (ECM) have been used to evaluate cell behavior in vitro. However, how cells and the growth factors interact with the ECM is still not fully understood. The objective of the present work is to evaluate in vitro L929 mouse fibroblasts in contact with Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel added with the growth factors: fibroblast (FGF), transforming-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), vascular endothelial (VEGF), insulin-like (IGF), and epidermal (EGF). The cytotoxicity assay showed that the maximum concentration of PVA hydrogel per well must be 10 vol%. When the factors EGF and FGF were added to the wells individually, it was possible to increase the concentration of PVA hydrogel to 15.04% and 18.81%, respectively, without interfering with the level of cytotoxicity. The IGF and the TGF-beta 1, when individually incorporated into the PVA hydrogel, affected negatively the cell viability (7.04% and 7.89%, respectively) compared to the other. The smallest allowable concentration occurred when all the factors were incorporated together with the PVA hydrogel (3,6%). Statistical significance (p < 0.05) was obtained between PVA + FGF, PVA + TGF, and PVA + EGF and their controls.