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Leppert A, Feng J, Railaite V, Bohn Pessatti T, Cerrato CP, Mörman C, Osterholz H, Lane DP, Maia FRNC, Linder MB, Rising A, Landreh M. Controlling Drug Partitioning in Individual Protein Condensates through Laser-Induced Microscale Phase Transitions. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:19555-19565. [PMID: 38963823 PMCID: PMC11258780 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c06688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2024] [Revised: 06/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
Gelation of protein condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation occurs in a wide range of biological contexts, from the assembly of biomaterials to the formation of fibrillar aggregates, and is therefore of interest for biomedical applications. Soluble-to-gel (sol-gel) transitions are controlled through macroscopic processes such as changes in temperature or buffer composition, resulting in bulk conversion of liquid droplets into microgels within minutes to hours. Using microscopy and mass spectrometry, we show that condensates of an engineered mini-spidroin (NT2repCTYF) undergo a spontaneous sol-gel transition resulting in the loss of exchange of proteins between the soluble and the condensed phase. This feature enables us to specifically trap a silk-domain-tagged target protein in the spidroin microgels. Surprisingly, laser pulses trigger near-instant gelation. By loading the condensates with fluorescent dyes or drugs, we can control the wavelength at which gelation is triggered. Fluorescence microscopy reveals that laser-induced gelation significantly further increases the partitioning of the fluorescent molecules into the condensates. In summary, our findings demonstrate direct control of phase transitions in individual condensates, opening new avenues for functional and structural characterization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Leppert
- Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, S-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, S-17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Jianhui Feng
- Bioproducts
and Biosystems, Aalto University, Fi-00076 Aalto, Espoo, Finland
| | - Vaida Railaite
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, S-17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Tomas Bohn Pessatti
- Department
of Anatomy Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Carmine P. Cerrato
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, S-17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Cecilia Mörman
- Department
of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska
Institutet, S-14157 Huddinge, Sweden
- Department
of Biology and Chemistry, Paul Scherrer
Institute, 5232 Villingen, Switzerland
| | - Hannah Osterholz
- Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, S-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - David P. Lane
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, S-17165 Solna, Sweden
| | - Filipe R. N. C. Maia
- Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, S-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Markus B. Linder
- Bioproducts
and Biosystems, Aalto University, Fi-00076 Aalto, Espoo, Finland
| | - Anna Rising
- Department
of Anatomy Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
- Department
of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska
Institutet, S-14157 Huddinge, Sweden
| | - Michael Landreh
- Department
of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, S-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
- Department
of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, S-17165 Solna, Sweden
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Mao Z, Bi X, Ye F, Shu X, Sun L, Guan J, Ritchie RO, Wu S. Controlled Cryogelation and Catalytic Cross-Linking Yields Highly Elastic and Robust Silk Fibroin Scaffolds. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020; 6:4512-4522. [PMID: 33455190 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c00752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Silk biomaterials with tunable mechanical properties and biological properties are of special importance for tissue engineering. Here, we fabricated silk fibroin (SF, from Bombyx mori silk) scaffolds from cryogelation under controlled temperature and catalytic cross-linking conditions. Structurally, the cryogelled scaffolds demonstrated a greater β-sheet content but significantly smaller β-sheet domains compared to that without chemical cross-linking and catalyst. Mechanically, the cryogelled scaffolds were softer and highly elastic under tension and compression. The 120% tensile elongation and >85% recoverable compressive strain were among the best properties reported for SF scaffolds. Cyclic compression tests proved the robustness of such scaffolds to resist fatigue. The mechanical properties, as well as the degradation rate of the scaffolds, can be fine-tuned by varying the concentrations of the catalyst and the cross-linker. For biological responses, in vitro rat bone mesenchymal stem cell (rBMSC) culture studies demonstrated that cryogelled SF scaffolds supported better cell attachment and proliferation than the routine freeze-thawed scaffolds. The in vivo subcutaneous implantation results showed excellent histocompatibility and tissue ingrowth for the cryogelled SF scaffolds. This straightforward approach of enhanced elasticity of SF scaffolds and fine-tunability in mechanical performances, suggests a promising strategy to develop novel SF biomaterials for soft tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhinan Mao
- International Research Center for Advanced Structural and Biomaterials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xuewei Bi
- Key Laboratory for Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Fan Ye
- International Research Center for Advanced Structural and Biomaterials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Xiong Shu
- Beijing Research Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedics, Beijing 100035, China
| | - Lei Sun
- Beijing Research Institute of Traumatology & Orthopaedics, Beijing 100035, China
| | - Juan Guan
- International Research Center for Advanced Structural and Biomaterials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Robert O Ritchie
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Sujun Wu
- International Research Center for Advanced Structural and Biomaterials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
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Human Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells-Incorporated Silk Fibroin as a Potential Bio-Scaffold in Guiding Bone Regeneration. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:polym12040853. [PMID: 32272682 PMCID: PMC7240549 DOI: 10.3390/polym12040853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recently, stem cell-based bone tissue engineering (BTE) has been recognized as a preferable and clinically significant strategy for bone repair. In this study, a pure 3D silk fibroin (SF) scaffold was fabricated as a BTE material using a lyophilization method. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of the SF scaffold with and without seeded human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) in facilitating bone regeneration. The effectiveness of the SF-hASCs scaffold was evaluated based on physical characterization, biocompatibility, osteogenic differentiation in vitro, and bone regeneration in critical rat calvarial defects in vivo. The SF scaffold demonstrated superior biocompatibility and significantly promoted osteogenic differentiation of hASCs in vitro. At six and twelve weeks postimplantation, micro-CT showed no statistical difference in new bone formation amongst all groups. However, histological staining results revealed that the SF-hASCs scaffold exhibited a better bone extracellular matrix deposition in the defect regions compared to other groups. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed this result; expression of osteoblast-related genes (BMP-2, COL1a1, and OCN) with the SF-hASCs scaffold treatment was remarkably positive, indicating their ability to achieve effective bone remodeling. Thus, these findings demonstrate that SF can serve as a potential carrier for stem cells, to be used as an osteoconductive bioscaffold for BTE applications.
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