The role of peptides in bone healing and regeneration: A systematic review

Background: Bone tissue engineering and the research surrounding peptides has expanded significantly over the last few decades. Several peptides have been shown to support and stimulate the bone healing response and have been proposed as therapeutic vehicles for clinical use. The aim of this comprehensive review is to present the clinical and experimental studies analysing the potential role of peptides for bone healing and bone regeneration. Methods: A systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines was conducted. Articles presenting peptides capable of exerting an upregulatory effect on osteoprogenitor cells and bone healing were included in the study. Results: Based on the available literature, a significant amount of experimental in vitro and in vivo evidence exists. Several peptides were found to upregulate the bone healing response in experimental models and could act as potential candidates for future clinical applications. However, from the available peptides that reached the level of clinical trials, the presented results are limited. Conclusion: Further research is desirable to shed more light into the processes governing the osteoprogenitor cellular responses. With further advances in the field of biomimetic materials and scaffolds, new treatment modalities for bone repair will emerge

New trends in the development of multifunctional peptides to functionalize biomaterials

Improving cell-material interactions is a major goal in tissue engineering. In thisregard, functionalization of biomaterials with cell instructive molecules from theextracellular matrix stands out as a powerful strategy to enhance their bioactivity andachieve optimal tissue integration. However, current functionalization strategies, likethe use of native full-length proteins, are associated with drawbacks, thus urging theneed of developing new methodologies. In this regard, the use of synthetic peptidesencompassing specific bioactive regions of proteins represents a promising alterna-tive. In particular, the combination of peptide sequences with complementary or syn-ergistic effects makes it possible to address more than one biological target at thebiomaterial surface. In this review, an overview of the main strategies using peptidesto install multifunctionality on biomaterials is presented, mostly focusing on the com-bination of the RGD motif with other peptides sequences. The evolution of theseapproaches, starting from simple methods, like using peptide mixtures, to moreadvanced systems of peptide presentation, with very well defined chemical proper-ties, are explained. For each system of peptide's presentation, three main aspects ofmultifunctionality—improving receptor selectivity, mimicking the extracellular matrixand preventing bacterial colonization while improving cell adhesion—are highlighted.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version