Cell instructive polymers

Integrins, cadherins and channels in cartilage mechanotransduction: perspectives for future regeneration strategies

Articular cartilage consists of hyaline cartilage, is a major constituent of the human musculoskeletal system and has critical functions in frictionless joint movement and articular homoeostasis. Osteoarthritis (OA) is an inflammatory disease of articular cartilage, which promotes joint degeneration. Although it affects millions of people, there are no satisfying therapies that address this disease at the molecular level. Therefore, tissue regeneration approaches aim at modifying chondrocyte biology to mitigate the consequences of OA. This requires appropriate biochemical and biophysical stimulation of cells. Regarding the latter, mechanotransduction of chondrocytes and their precursor cells has become increasingly important over the last few decades. Mechanotransduction is the transformation of external biophysical stimuli into intracellular biochemical signals, involving sensor molecules at the cell surface and intracellular signalling molecules, so-called mechano-sensors and -transducers. These signalling events determine cell behaviour. Mechanotransducing ion channels and gap junctions additionally govern chondrocyte physiology. It is of great scientific and medical interest to induce a specific cell behaviour by controlling these mechanotransduction pathways and to translate this knowledge into regenerative clinical therapies. This review therefore focuses on the mechanotransduction properties of integrins, cadherins and ion channels in cartilaginous tissues to provide perspectives for cartilage regeneration.

Biomimetic Approaches for Separated Regeneration of Sensory and Motor Fibers in Amputee People: Necessary Conditions for Functional Integration of Sensory-Motor Prostheses With the Peripheral Nerves

The regenerative capacity of the peripheral nervous system after an injury is limited, and a complete function is not recovered, mainly due to the loss of nerve tissue after the injury that causes a separation between the nerve ends and to the disorganized and intermingled growth of sensory and motor nerve fibers that cause erroneous reinnervations. Even though the development of biomaterials is a very promising field, today no significant results have been achieved. In this work, we study not only the characteristics that should have the support that will allow the growth of nerve fibers, but also the molecular profile necessary for a specific guidance. To do this, we carried out an exhaustive study of the molecular profile present during the regeneration of the sensory and motor fibers separately, as well as of the effect obtained by the administration and inhibition of different factors involved in the regeneration. In addition, we offer a complete design of the ideal characteristics of a biomaterial, which allows the growth of the sensory and motor neurons in a differentiated way, indicating (1) size and characteristics of the material; (2) necessity to act at the microlevel, on small groups of neurons; (3) combination of molecules and specific substrates; and (4) temporal profile of those molecules expression throughout the regeneration process. The importance of the design we offer is that it respects the complexity and characteristics of the regeneration process; it indicates the appropriate temporal conditions of molecular expression, in order to obtain a synergistic effect; it takes into account the importance of considering the process at the group of neuron level; and it gives an answer to the main limitations in the current studies.

Novel Pathway for Efficient Covalent Modification of Polyester Materials of Different Design to Prepare Biomimetic Surfaces

To form modern materials with biomimic surfaces, the novel pathway for surface functionalization with specific ligands of well-known and widely used polyester-based rigid media was developed and optimized. Two types of material bases, namely, poly(lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone), as well as two types of material design, e.g., supermacroporous matrices and nanoparticles (NPs), were modified via covalent attachment of preliminary oxidized polyvinylsaccharide poly(2-deoxy-N-methacryloylamido-d-glucose) (PMAG). This polymer, being highly biocompatible and bioinspired, was used to enhance hydrophilicity of the polymer surface and to provide the elevated concentration of reactive groups required for covalent binding of bioligands of choice. The specialties of the interaction of PMAG and its preliminary formed bioconjugates with a chemically activated polyester surface were studied and thoroughly discussed. The supermacroporous materials modified with cell adhesion motifs and Arg-Gly-Asp-containing peptide (RGD-peptide) were tested in the experiments on bone tissue engineering. In turn, the NPs were modified with bioligands ("self-peptide" or camel antibodies) to control their phagocytosis that can be important, for example, for the preparation of drug delivery systems.

High throughput optimization of stem cell microenvironments

Stem cells have great potential as cell sources for regenerative medicine due to both their self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation capacity. Despite advances in the field of stem cell biology, major challenges remain before stem cells can be widely used for therapeutic purposes. One challenge is to develop reproducible methods to control stem cell growth and differentiation. The niche in which stem cells reside is a complex, multi-factorial environment. In contrast to using cells alone, biomaterials can provide initial structural support, and allow cells to adhere, proliferate and differentiate in a three-dimensional environment. Researchers have incorporated signals into the biomaterials that can promote desired cell functions in a spatially and temporally controlled manner. Despite progress in biomaterial design and methods to modulate cellular behavior, many of the complex signal networks that regulate cell-material interactions remain unclear. Due to the vast numbers of material properties to be explored and the complexity of cell-surface interactions, it is often difficult to optimize stem cell microenvironments using conventional, iterative approaches. To address these challenges, high throughput screening of combinatorial libraries has emerged as a novel approach to achieve rapid screening with reduced materials and costs. In this review, we discuss recent research in the area of high throughput approaches for characterization and optimization of cellular interactions with their microenvironments. In contrast to conventional approaches, screening combinatorial libraries can result in the discovery of unexpected material solutions to these complex problems.

Peptide- and protein-mediated assembly of heparinized hydrogels

Polymeric hydrogels have demonstrated significant promise in biomedical applications such as drug delivery and tissue engineering. A continued direction in hydrogel development includes the engineering of the biological responsiveness of these materials, via the inclusion of cell-binding domains and enzyme-sensitive domains. Ligand-receptor interactions offer additional opportunities in the design of responsive hydrogels, and strategies employing protein- polysaccharide interactions as a target may have unique relevance to materials intended to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM). Accordingly, we have developed approaches for producing hydrogels via noncovalent interactions between heparin and heparin-binding peptides/proteins, and have demonstrated that such matrices are capable of both passive and receptor-mediated growth factor delivery. Further modification of these materials via the integration of these noncovalent strategies with chemical crosslinking methods will expand the range of their potential use and is under exploration. The combination of these approaches offers broad opportunities for the production of responsive matrices for biomedical applications.