In Vitro Investigation of Jellyfish Collagen as a Tool in Cell Culture and (Bone) Tissue Engineering

Background/Aim: Jellyfish collagen serves as a competitive alternative to mammalian-sourced collagen in many practical aspects. For instance, jellyfish collagen lacks religious constraints when compared to bovine or porcine sources and promises batch-to-batch consistency. Another advantage is its structural similarity with many mammalian collagen types, providing a biocompatible matrix for different cell types as “collagen type 0”. This paper intends to investigate jellyfish collagen (Jellagen^®) in two applications. This investigation aims to establish an initial understanding of jellyfish collagen in biotechnology. More specifically, in cell culture and the field of tissue engineering. Materials and Methods: The jellyfish collagen was comparatively tested as a coating material for multi-well plates as one of the most extensively used tools in cell culture and in the form of three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds intended for bone tissue engineering (BTE) applications. Both, the coated well plates and the scaffolds were seeded with fibroblasts and pre-osteoblasts, separately. In vitro cytocompatibility assays in accordance with EN ISO 10993-5/-12 regulations and LIVE-DEAD-stainings were carried out to study the cell viability, cytotoxicity and proliferation of these two cell lines. Results: The results showed that collagen extracted from R. pulmo jellyfish can be an alternative to mammalian-derived collagen. Fibroblasts showed comparable cell viability to the medium control and an increased cell proliferation on the well plates indicating that these coated well plates can be used in cell culture, particularly in biocompatibility studies of biomaterials (as fibroblasts are used in this respective field extensively). The viability of pre-osteoblasts significantly exceeded the medium control in case of the jellyfish 3D scaffolds. Conclusion: These cells exhibited favorable healthy behavior on this marine collagen, suggesting that Jellagen^® collagen can be used in studies of (bone) tissue regeneration and especially as scaffolds in BTE. In conclusion, jellyfish collagen provides biocompatibility and adhesive properties for both cell culture and BTE applications.