Harnessing the versatility of bacterial collagen to improve the chondrogenic potential of porous collagen scaffolds
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Collagen type I foams have been used extensively in the clinic as scaffolds to promote articular cartilage repair by providing a bioactive environment for cells with chondrogenic potential. However, collagen type I as a base material does not allow for precise control over the bioactive regions interfaced with cells. On the other hand, recombinant bacterial collagens can be used as ‘blank slate’ collagen molecules to offer a versatile platform for controllable incorporation of selected bioactive sequences and fabricated into three–dimensional scaffolds. Here, we demonstrate the potential of Streptococcal collagen–like 2 (Scl2) protein foams modified with peptide sequences designed to specifically and non–covalently bind hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate to significantly improve chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), when compared to collagen type I foams. Specific compositions of the functionalized Scl2 proteins led to improved chondrogenesis compared to both non–functionalized Scl2 and collagen type I foams as indicated by differences in gene expression, extracellular matrix accumulation, and compression moduli. Furthermore, hMSCs cultured in functionalized Scl2 foams exhibited decreased collagen types I and X gene and protein expression, suggesting a major advantage over collagen type I foams in promoting an articular chondrocyte phenotype. These highly modular foams can be further modified to improve specific aspects of the chondrogenic response through careful selection of additional biological moieties. As such, these scaffolds also have the potential to be tailored for other regenerative medicine applications.
Date Issued
2016-05-24
Date Acceptance
2016-04-01
Citation
Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2016, 5 (13), pp.1656-1666
ISSN
2192-2640
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1656
End Page
1666
Journal / Book Title
Advanced Healthcare Materials
Volume
5
Issue
13
Copyright Statement
© 2016 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Wellcome Trust
Commission of the European Communities
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Grant Number
MR/K026666/1
098411/Z/12/Z
ERC-2013-CoG-616417
RA26F7
Subjects
bioactivity
biomimetic materials
cartilage tissue engineering
collagen foams
mesenchymal stem cells
Publication Status
Published