Issue 5, 2020

Directional molecular sliding movement in peptide hydrogels accelerates cell proliferation

Abstract

Adjusting the mechanical cues generated in cellular microenvironments is important for manipulating cell behaviour. Here we report on mechanically dynamic hydrogels undergoing directional domain sliding motion and investigate the effect of the well-defined mechanical motion on accelerating cell proliferation. The mechanically dynamic hydrogels were prepared via self-assembly of an amphiphilic peptide consisting of two alternating polar and nonpolar domains cross-linked by disulfide bonds at a nonsymmetrical position. The cross-linked peptide assembled into entangled nanofibers driven by the hydrophobic collapse involving a partial-length sequence due to the covalent constraint. Reduction of the disulfide bonds led to formation of non-equilibrated peptide bilayers, which underwent directional domain sliding motion along each promoted by the thermodynamically favourable transition from the partial to full hydrophobic collapse. The mechanical cues resulting from the directional domain sliding motion within the mechanically dynamic hydrogels accelerated cell proliferation when incubating cells on the hydrogel, compared to the thermodynamically static counterparts, via a mechanotransduction mechanism as supported by the facilitated translocation of yes-associated proteins into the nucleus of the cells. Our finding demonstrates the great potential of mechanically dynamic hydrogels as new-generation biomimetic extracellular matrices in tissue engineering and regeneration.

Graphical abstract: Directional molecular sliding movement in peptide hydrogels accelerates cell proliferation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
16 Nov. 2019
Accepted
15 Dec. 2019
First published
16 Dec. 2019
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2020,11, 1383-1393

Directional molecular sliding movement in peptide hydrogels accelerates cell proliferation

S. Song, J. Wang, Z. Cheng, Z. Yang, L. Shi and Z. Yu, Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 1383 DOI: 10.1039/C9SC05808G

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