Issue 40, 2015

Collagen-mimetic hydrogels promote human endothelial cell adhesion, migration and phenotypic maturation

Abstract

This work evaluates the response of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) to thromboresistant collagen-mimetic hydrogel coatings toward improving the biocompatibility of existing “off-the-shelf” small-caliber vascular grafts. Specifically, bioactive hydrogels – previously shown to support α12 integrin-mediated cell adhesion but to resist platelet activation – were fabricated by combining poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with a 120 kDa, triple-helical collagen-mimetic protein (Scl2-2) containing the GFPGER adhesion sequence. Analysis of HAECs seeded onto the resulting PEG-Scl2-2 hydrogels demonstrated that HAEC adhesion increased with increasing Scl2-2 concentration, while HAEC migration rate decreased over this same concentration range. In addition, evaluation of HAEC phenotype at confluence indicated significant differences in the gene expression of NOS3, thrombomodulin, and E-selectin on the PEG-Scl2-2 hydrogels relative to PEG-collagen controls. At the protein level, however, only NOS3 was significantly different between the PEG-Scl2-2 and PEG-collagen surfaces. Furthermore, PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin expression on PEG-Scl2-2 hydrogels versus PEG-collagen controls could not be distinguished at either the gene or protein level. Cumulatively, these data indicate the PEG-Scl2-2 hydrogels warrant further investigation as “off-the-shelf” graft coatings. In future studies, the Scl2-2 protein can potentially be modified to include additional extracellular matrix or cytokine binding sites to further improve endothelial cell responses.

Graphical abstract: Collagen-mimetic hydrogels promote human endothelial cell adhesion, migration and phenotypic maturation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 May 2015
Accepted
10 Jul 2015
First published
15 Jul 2015

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015,3, 7912-7919

Collagen-mimetic hydrogels promote human endothelial cell adhesion, migration and phenotypic maturation

D. J. Munoz-Pinto, V. R. Guiza-Arguello, S. M. Becerra-Bayona, J. Erndt-Marino, S. Samavedi, S. Malmut, B. Russell, M. Höök and M. S. Hahn, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2015, 3, 7912 DOI: 10.1039/C5TB00990A

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