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Schofield C, Sarrigiannidis S, Moran-Horowich A, Jackson E, Rodrigo-Navarro A, van Agtmael T, Cantini M, Dalby MJ, Salmeron-Sanchez M. An In Vitro Model of the Blood-Brain Barrier for the Investigation and Isolation of the Key Drivers of Barriergenesis. Adv Healthc Mater 2024:e2303777. [PMID: 39101628 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202303777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024]
Abstract
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) tightly regulates substance transport between the bloodstream and the brain. Models for the study of the physiological processes affecting the BBB, as well as predicting the permeability of therapeutic substances for neurological and neurovascular pathologies, are highly desirable. Existing models, such as Transwell utilizing-models, do not mimic the extracellular environment of the BBB with their stiff, semipermeable, non-biodegradable membranes. To help overcome this, we engineered electrospun membranes from poly L-lactic acid in combination with a nanometric coating of poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) that drives fibrillogenesis of fibronectin, facilitating the synergistic presentation of both growth factors and integrin binding sites. Compared to commercial semi-porous membranes, these membranes significantly improve the expression of BBB-related proteins in brain endothelial cells. PEA-coated membranes in combination with different growth factors and extracellular protein coatings reveal nerve growth factor (NGF) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) caused formation of better barriers in vitro. This BBB model offers a robust platform for studying key biochemical factors influencing barrier formation that marries the simplicity of the Transwell model with the highly tunable electrospun PEA-fibronectin membranes. This enables the generation of high-throughput drug permeability models without the need of complicated co-culture conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Schofield
- Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G11 6EW, UK
| | | | | | - Emma Jackson
- Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G11 6EW, UK
| | | | - Tom van Agtmael
- School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8TA, UK
| | - Marco Cantini
- Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G11 6EW, UK
| | - Matthew J Dalby
- Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G11 6EW, UK
| | - Manuel Salmeron-Sanchez
- Centre for the Cellular Microenvironment, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G11 6EW, UK
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology (BIST), Barcelona, 08028, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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Casanova MR, Reis RL, Martins A, Neves NM. Fibronectin Bound to a Fibrous Substrate Has Chondrogenic Induction Properties. Biomacromolecules 2020; 21:1368-1378. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.9b01546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Marta R. Casanova
- 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics of University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark—Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s—PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4805-017 Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Rui L. Reis
- 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics of University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark—Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s—PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4805-017 Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
- The Discoveries Centre for Regenerative and Precision Medicine, Headquarters at University of Minho, Avepark, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Albino Martins
- 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics of University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark—Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s—PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4805-017 Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Nuno M. Neves
- 3B’s Research Group, I3Bs—Research Institute on Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics of University of Minho, Headquarters of the European Institute of Excellence on Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, AvePark—Parque de Ciência e Tecnologia, Zona Industrial da Gandra, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal
- ICVS/3B’s—PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4805-017 Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
- The Discoveries Centre for Regenerative and Precision Medicine, Headquarters at University of Minho, Avepark, Barco, 4805-017 Guimarães, Portugal
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Sprott MR, Gallego‐Ferrer G, Dalby MJ, Salmerón‐Sánchez M, Cantini M. Functionalization of PLLA with Polymer Brushes to Trigger the Assembly of Fibronectin into Nanonetworks. Adv Healthc Mater 2019; 8:e1801469. [PMID: 30609243 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201801469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) has been used as a biodegradable polymer for many years; the key characteristics of this polymer make it a versatile and useful resource for regenerative medicine. However, it is not inherently bioactive. Thus, here, a novel process is presented to functionalize PLLA surfaces with poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) brushes to provide biological functionality through PEA's ability to induce spontaneous organization of the extracellular matrix component fibronectin (FN) into physiological-like nanofibrils. This process allows control of surface biofunctionality while maintaining PLLA bulk properties (i.e., degradation profile, mechanical strength). The new approach is based on surface-initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization, which achieves a molecularly thin coating of PEA on top of the underlying PLLA. Beside surface characterization via atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and water contact angle to measure PEA grafting, the biological activity of this surface modification is investigated. PEA brushes trigger FN organization into nanofibrils, which retain their ability to enhance adhesion and differentiation of C2C12 cells. The results demonstrate the potential of this technology to engineer controlled microenvironments to tune cell fate via biologically active surface modification of an otherwise bioinert biodegradable polymer, gaining wide use in tissue engineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Robert Sprott
- Centre for the Cellular MicroenvironmentUniversity of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8LT UK
| | - Gloria Gallego‐Ferrer
- Center for Biomaterials and Tissue EngineeringUniversitat Politècnica de València Valencia 46022 Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center in BioengineeringBiomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER‐BBN) Valencia 46022 Spain
| | - Matthew J. Dalby
- Centre for the Cellular MicroenvironmentUniversity of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8LT UK
| | | | - Marco Cantini
- Centre for the Cellular MicroenvironmentUniversity of Glasgow Glasgow G12 8LT UK
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Salmerón-Sánchez M, Dalby MJ. Synergistic growth factor microenvironments. Chem Commun (Camb) 2016; 52:13327-13336. [DOI: 10.1039/c6cc06888j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
This paper focuses on developments in materials to stimulate growth factors effects by engineering presentation in synergy with integrins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel Salmerón-Sánchez
- Division of Biomedical Engineering
- School of Engineering
- University of Glasgow
- Rankine Building
- Glasgow G12 8LT
| | - Matthew J. Dalby
- Center for Cell Engineering
- Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology
- University of Glasgow
- Glasgow G12 8QQ
- UK
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Vanterpool FA, Cantini M, Seib FP, Salmerón-Sánchez M. A material-based platform to modulate fibronectin activity and focal adhesion assembly. Biores Open Access 2014; 3:286-96. [PMID: 25469314 PMCID: PMC4245838 DOI: 10.1089/biores.2014.0033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a detailed characterization of fibronectin (FN) adsorption and cell adhesion on poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA), two polymers with very similar physicochemical properties and chemical structure, which differ in one single methyl group in the lateral chain of the polymer. The globular solution conformation of FN was retained following adsorption onto PMA, whereas spontaneous organization of FN into protein (nano) networks occurred on PEA. This distinct distribution of FN at the material interface promoted a different availability, measured via monoclonal antibody binding, of two domains that facilitated integrin binding to FN: FNIII10 (RGD sequence) and FNIII9 (PHSRN synergy sequence). The enhanced exposure of the synergy domain on PEA compared to PMA triggered different focal adhesion assemblies: L929 fibroblasts showed a higher fraction of smaller focal plaques on PMA (40%) than on PEA (20%). Blocking experiments with monoclonal antibodies against FNIII10 (HFN7.1) and FNIII9 (mAb1937) confirmed the ability of these polymeric substrates to modulate FN conformation. Overall, we propose a simple and versatile material platform that can be used to tune the presentation of a main extracellular matrix protein (FN) to cells, for applications than span from tissue engineering to disease biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frankie A. Vanterpool
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Marco Cantini
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - F. Philipp Seib
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Manuel Salmerón-Sánchez
- Division of Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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