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Carvalho ED, Morais MRG, Pêgo AP, Barrias CC, Araújo M. The interplay between chemical conjugation and biologic performance in the development of alginate-based 3D matrices to mimic neural microenvironments. Carbohydr Polym 2024; 323:121412. [PMID: 37940293 DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Biofunctionalization of polysaccharides is a widely used strategy for obtaining extracellular matrix (ECM)-mimicking biomaterials. Still, commonly employed chemistries present low reaction yields and the selection of the most adequate bioconjugation route can be challenging. Herein, we compared the performance of carbodiimide and reductive amination chemistries for the synthesis of tailored peptide-alginate hybrid hydrogels as neural tissue mimics. Reductive amination dramatically improved the peptide grafting efficiency, with yields of 50 % vs. 20 %, allowing 1.5 to 3-fold higher incorporation of cell-adhesive and matrix-metalloproteinases (MMP)-sensitive peptides, respectively. The conjugation of dual-end reactive MMP-sensitive peptides promoted a partial crosslinking, allowing adjusting gelation, stiffness, and degradability of hydrogels. Such parameters depended on the glycosidic position where the bioactive peptide binds, determined by the adopted chemical strategy, and this significantly impacted the biological response. Reductive amination provided softer (50-210 Pa) and fully degradable (60-100 % weight loss) hydrogels, depending on the amount of peptide in formulation, contrasting with the stiffer (400 Pa) and less degradable (40 % weight loss) carbodiimide-based hydrogels. Due to their opened polymer chain and increased peptide availability to cells, such hydrogels better supported the 3D culture of primary astrocytes, which present high complexity and process branching, allowing the development of improved brain ECM-mimicking systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva D Carvalho
- i3S - Instituto de Inovação e Investigação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; FEUP - Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Miguel R G Morais
- i3S - Instituto de Inovação e Investigação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana P Pêgo
- i3S - Instituto de Inovação e Investigação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Cristina C Barrias
- i3S - Instituto de Inovação e Investigação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Marco Araújo
- i3S - Instituto de Inovação e Investigação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; INEB - Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
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Zong B, Yu F, Zhang X, Pang Y, Zhao W, Sun P, Li L. Mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel in physiology and pathophysiology of the central nervous system. Ageing Res Rev 2023; 90:102026. [PMID: 37532007 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.102026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Since the discovery of the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel in 2010, there has been a significant amount of research conducted to explore its regulatory role in the physiology and pathology of various organ systems. Recently, a growing body of compelling evidence has emerged linking the activity of the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel to health and disease of the central nervous system. However, the exact mechanisms underlying these associations remain inadequately comprehended. This review systematically summarizes the current research on the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel and its implications for central nervous system mechanobiology, retrospects the results demonstrating the regulatory role of the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel on various cell types within the central nervous system, including neural stem cells, neurons, oligodendrocytes, microglia, astrocytes, and brain endothelial cells. Furthermore, the review discusses the current understanding of the involvement of the Piezo1 channel in central nervous system disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, stroke, and glioma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boyi Zong
- College of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Fengzhi Yu
- School of Exercise and Health, Shanghai Frontiers Science Research Base of Exercise and Metabolic Health, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Xiaoyou Zhang
- College of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Yige Pang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zibo Central Hospital, Zibo 255000, Shandong, China
| | - Wenrui Zhao
- College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, Zhejiang, China
| | - Peng Sun
- College of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
| | - Lin Li
- College of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
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Rocha DN, Carvalho ED, Pires LR, Gardin C, Zanolla I, Szewczyk PK, Machado C, Fernandes R, Stachewicz U, Zavan B, Relvas JB, Pêgo AP. It takes two to remyelinate: A bioengineered platform to study astrocyte-oligodendrocyte crosstalk and potential therapeutic targets in remyelination. BIOMATERIALS ADVANCES 2023; 151:213429. [PMID: 37148597 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioadv.2023.213429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
The loss of the myelin sheath insulating axons is the hallmark of demyelinating diseases. These pathologies often lead to irreversible neurological impairment and patient disability. No effective therapies are currently available to promote remyelination. Several elements contribute to the inadequacy of remyelination, thus understanding the intricacies of the cellular and signaling microenvironment of the remyelination niche might help us to devise better strategies to enhance remyelination. Here, using a new in vitro rapid myelinating artificial axon system based on engineered microfibres, we investigated how reactive astrocytes influence oligodendrocyte (OL) differentiation and myelination ability. This artificial axon culture system enables the effective uncoupling of molecular cues from the biophysical properties of the axons, allowing the detailed study of the astrocyte-OL crosstalk. Oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) were cultured on poly(trimethylene carbonate-co-ε-caprolactone) copolymer electrospun microfibres that served as surrogate axons. This platform was then combined with a previously established tissue engineered glial scar model of astrocytes embedded in 1 % (w/v) alginate matrices, in which astrocyte reactive phenotype was acquired using meningeal fibroblast conditioned medium. OPCs were shown to adhere to uncoated engineered microfibres and differentiate into myelinating OL. Reactive astrocytes were found to significantly impair OL differentiation ability, after six and eight days in a co-culture system. Differentiation impairment was seen to be correlated with astrocytic miRNA release through exosomes. We found significantly reduction on the expression of pro-myelinating miRNAs (miR-219 and miR-338) and an increase in anti-myelinating miRNA (miR-125a-3p) content between reactive and quiescent astrocytes. Additionally, we show that OPC differentiation inhibition could be reverted by rescuing the activated astrocytic phenotype with ibuprofen, a chemical inhibitor of the small rhoGTPase RhoA. Overall, these findings show that modulating astrocytic function might be an interesting therapeutic avenue for demyelinating diseases. The use of these engineered microfibres as an artificial axon culture system will enable the screening for potential therapeutic agents that promote OL differentiation and myelination while providing valuable insight on the myelination/remyelination processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela N Rocha
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Eva D Carvalho
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Liliana R Pires
- Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Chiara Gardin
- Maria Cecilia Hospital, GVM Care & Research, Cotignola, 48033 Ravenna, Italy
| | - Ilaria Zanolla
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Piotr K Szewczyk
- Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Cláudia Machado
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - Rui Fernandes
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
| | - Urszula Stachewicz
- Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science, AGH University of Science and Technology, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
| | - Barbara Zavan
- Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - João B Relvas
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade do Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana P Pêgo
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal; Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto, 4050-343 Porto, Portugal.
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Faria P, Pacheco C, Moura RP, Sarmento B, Martins C. Multifunctional nanomedicine strategies to manage brain diseases. Drug Deliv Transl Res 2022; 13:1322-1342. [PMID: 36344871 DOI: 10.1007/s13346-022-01256-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Brain diseases represent a substantial social and economic burden, currently affecting one in six individuals worldwide. Brain research has been focus of great attention in order to unravel the pathogenesis and complexity of brain diseases at the cellular, molecular, and microenvironmental levels. Due to the intrinsic nature of the brain, the presence of the highly restrictive blood-brain barrier (BBB), and the pathophysiology of most diseases, therapies can hardly be considered successful purely by the administration of one drug to a patient. Apart from improving pharmacokinetic parameters, tailoring biodistribution, and reducing the number of side effects, nanomedicines are able to actively co-target the therapeutics to the brain parenchyma and brain lesions, as well as to achieve the delivery of multiple cargos with therapeutic, diagnostic, and theranostic properties. Among other multivalent effects that can be personalized according to the disease needs, this represents a promising class of novel nanosystems, termed multifunctional nanomedicines. Herein, we review the principal mechanisms of therapeutic resistance of the most prevalent brain diseases, how to overcome this therapeutic resistance through the use of multifunctional nanomedicines that tackle multiple fronts of the disease microenvironment, and the promising therapeutic responses achieved by some of the most cutting-edge multifunctional nanomedicines reported in literature.
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Rocha DN, Carvalho ED, Relvas JB, Oliveira MJ, Pêgo AP. Mechanotransduction: Exploring New Therapeutic Avenues in Central Nervous System Pathology. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:861613. [PMID: 35573316 PMCID: PMC9096357 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.861613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells are continuously exposed to physical forces and the central nervous system (CNS) is no exception. Cells dynamically adapt their behavior and remodel the surrounding environment in response to forces. The importance of mechanotransduction in the CNS is illustrated by exploring its role in CNS pathology development and progression. The crosstalk between the biochemical and biophysical components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are here described, considering the recent explosion of literature demonstrating the powerful influence of biophysical stimuli like density, rigidity and geometry of the ECM on cell behavior. This review aims at integrating mechanical properties into our understanding of the molecular basis of CNS disease. The mechanisms that mediate mechanotransduction events, like integrin, Rho/ROCK and matrix metalloproteinases signaling pathways are revised. Analysis of CNS pathologies in this context has revealed that a wide range of neurological diseases share as hallmarks alterations of the tissue mechanical properties. Therefore, it is our belief that the understanding of CNS mechanotransduction pathways may lead to the development of improved medical devices and diagnostic methods as well as new therapeutic targets and strategies for CNS repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Nogueira Rocha
- Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Eva Daniela Carvalho
- Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Faculdade de Engenharia (FEUP), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - João Bettencourt Relvas
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Departamento de Biomedicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria José Oliveira
- Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana Paula Pêgo
- Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (INEB), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
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