TABLE III.

Three-dimensional hydrogels.

Experimental design	Major findings	References
NPCs were isolated from the SVZ of post-natal-day-1 transgenic rats and combined with an immortalized BEC line within poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(L-lysine) hydrogels. Hydrogels were implanted into 8–10-week-old Sprague–Dawley rats	• After six weeks, BECs co-cultured with NPCs produced tubular structures with significantly greater densities than BECs cultured in hydrogels alone	62, 140
	• Blood flow in new microvessels was observed two weeks after hydrogel implantation
Human NSCs/NPCs were isolated from the cerebral cortices of human fetuses and combined with human ECFC-ECs isolated from cord blood within hydrogels composed of salmon fibrin with interpenetrating networks of hyaluronic acid and laminin	• Compared to fibrin hydrogels, combination scaffolds enhanced NSC/NPC proliferation and differentiation into astrocytes and neurons	123
	• When cocultured with NSCs/NPCs, ECFC-ECs showed enhanced microvessel formation