Fig. 6.

Ultra-long dense bundles of aligned astrocytes. (A–C) Bright field microscopy revealed that astrocytes seeded at high density in hydrogel micro-columns of 350 μm ID formed a robust network of longitudinally aligned astrocytes that extended throughout nearly the entire length of the micro-column (2.5 cm). Arrows indicate the ends of the long astrocytic bundle, which extended over 2.3 cm in this example. (D, E) Long (>1.5 cm) astrocytic networks withstood mechanical tension upon being removed from the hydrogel micro-columns using surgical forceps, demonstrating their versatility for transplantation in or out of the hydrogel encasement. Scale bars: 500 μm.