2 research outputs found
Multivalent Ligand Displayed on Plant Virus Induces Rapid Onset of Bone Differentiation
Viruses are monodispersed biomacromolecules with well-defined
3-D
structures at the nanometer level. The relative ease to manipulate
viral coat protein gene to display numerous functional groups affords
an attractive feature for these nanomaterials, and the inability of
plant viruses to infect mammalian hosts poses little or no cytotoxic
concerns. As such, these nanosized molecular tools serve as powerful
templates for many pharmacological applications ranging as multifunctional
theranostic agents with tissue targeting motifs and imaging agents,
potent vaccine scaffolds to induce cellular immunity and for probing
cellular functions as synthetic biomaterials. The results herein show
that combination of serum-free, chemically defined media with genetically
modified plant virus induces rapid onset of key bone differentiation
markers for bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells within two
days. The xeno-free culture is often a key step toward development
of ex vivo implants, and the early onset of osteocalcin, BMP-2 and
calcium sequestration are some of the key molecular markers in the
progression toward bone formation. The results herein will provide
some key insights to engineering functional materials for rapid bone
repair
Porous Alginate Hydrogel Functionalized with Virus as Three-Dimensional Scaffolds for Bone Differentiation
In regenerative medicine, a synthetic extracellular matrix
is crucial
for supporting stem cells during its differentiation process to integrate
into surrounding tissues. Hydrogels are used extensively in biomaterials
as synthetic matrices to support the cells. However, to mimic the
biological niche of a functional tissue, various chemical functionalities
are necessary. We present here, a method of functionalizing a highly
porous hydrogel with functional groups by mixing the hydrogel with
a plant virus, tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), and its mutant. The implication
of this process resides with the three important features of TMV:
its well-defined genetic/chemical modularity, its multivalency (TMV
capsid is composed of 2130 copies of identical subunits), and its
well-defined structural features. Previous studies utilizing the native
TMV on two-dimensional supports accelerated mesenchymal stem cell
differentiation, and surfaces modified with genetically modified viral
particles further enhanced cell attachment and differentiation. Herein
we demonstrate that functionalization of a porous alginate scaffold
can be achieved by the addition of viral particles with minimal processing
and downstream purifications, and the cell attachment and differentiation
within the macroporous scaffold can be effectively manipulated by
altering the peptide or small molecule displayed on the viral particles