Fibrin Gel as an Injectable Biodegradable Scaffold and Cell Carrier for Tissue Engineering

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the fibrin aggregation process. Fibrinogen is composed of two sets of Aα-, Bβ-, and γ chains. Each α-chain is connected with E-region through fibrinopeptide A (FPA, orange) and fibrinopeptide B (FPB, green). The D-region is linked with E-region through a coiled segment. Thrombin-mediated cleavage of FPA induces the formation of two-stranded protofibril. Subsequent cleavage of FPB releases α-chain from E-region and contributes to the lateral aggregation of two-stranded protofibrils and fibrin formation [24].