Identifying distinct nanoscopic features of native collagen fibrils towards early diagnosis of pelvic organ prolapse.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is characterized by weakening of the connective tissues and loss of support for the pelvic organs. Collagen is the predominant, load-bearing protein within pelvic floor connective tissues. In this study, we examined the nanoscopic structures and biomechanics of native collagen fibrils in surgical, vaginal wall connective tissues from healthy women and POP patients. Compared to controls, collagen fibrils in POP samples were bulkier, more uneven in width and stiffer with aberrant D-period. Additionally, the ratio of collagen I (COLI) and collagen III (COLIII) is doubled in POP with a concomitant reduction of the amount of total collagen. Thus, POP is characterized by abnormal biochemical composition and biophysical characteristics of collagen fibrils that form a loose and fragile fiber network accountable for the weak load-bearing capability. The study identifies nanoscale alterations in collagen as diagnostic markers that could enable pre-symptomatic or early diagnosis of POP. FROM THE CLINICAL EDITOR: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) occurs due to abnormalities of the supporting connective tissues. The underlying alterations of collagen fibers in the connective tissues have not been studied extensively. In this article, the authors showed that collagen fibrils in POP patients were much different from normal controls. The findings may provide a framework for the diagnosis of other connective diseases.

E-spun composite fibers of collagen and dragline silk protein: fiber mechanics, biocompatibility, and application in stem cell differentiation.

Biocomposite matrices with high mechanical strength, high stability, and the ability to direct matrix-specific stem cell differentiation are essential for the reconstruction of lesioned tissues in tissue engineering and cell therapeutics. Toward this end, we used the electrospinning technique to fabricate well-aligned composite fibers from collagen and spider dragline silk protein, obtained from the milk of transgenic goats, mimicking the native extracellular matrix (ECM) on a similar scale. Collagen and the dragline silk proteins were found to mix homogeneously at all ratios in the electrospun (E-spun) fibers. As a result, the ultimate tensile strength and elasticity of the fibers increased monotonically with silk percentage, whereas the stretchability was slightly reduced. Strikingly, we found that the incorporation of silk proteins to collagen dramatically increased the matrix stability against excessive fiber swelling and shape deformation in cell culture medium. When human decidua parietalis placental stem cells (hdpPSCs) were seeded on the collagen-silk matrices, the matrices were found to support cell proliferation at a similar rate as that of the pure collagen matrix, but they provided cell adhesion with reduced strengths and induced cell polarization at varied levels. Matrices containing 15 and 30 wt % silk in collagen (CS15, CS30) were found to induce a level of neural differentiation comparable to that of pure collagen. In particular, CS15 matrix induced the highest extent of cell polarization and promoted the development of extended 1D neural filaments strictly in-line with the aligned fibers. Taking the increased mechanical strength and fiber stability into consideration, CS15 and CS30 E-spun fibers offer better alternatives to pure collagen fibers as scaffolds that can be potentially utilized in neural tissue repair and the development of future nanobiodevices.

Two-way regulation between cells and aligned collagen fibrils: local 3D matrix formation and accelerated neural differentiation of human decidua parietalis placental stem cells.

It has been well established that an aligned matrix provides structural and signaling cues to guide cell polarization and cell fate decision. However, the modulation role of cells in matrix remodeling and the feedforward effect on stem cell differentiation have not been studied extensively. In this study, we report on the concerted changes of human decidua parietalis placental stem cells (hdpPSCs) and the highly ordered collagen fibril matrix in response to cell-matrix interaction. With high-resolution imaging, we found the hdpPSCs interacted with the matrix by deforming the cell shape, harvesting the nearby collagen fibrils, and reorganizing the fibrils around the cell body to transform a 2D matrix to a localized 3D matrix. Such a unique 3D matrix prompted high expression of ß-1 integrin around the cell body that mediates and facilitates the stem cell differentiation toward neural cells. The study offers insights into the coordinated, dynamic changes at the cell-matrix interface and elucidates cell modulation of its matrix to establish structural and biochemical cues for effective cell growth and differentiation.

Toxicity of CdTe quantum dots on yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Along with the widespread development of their bioapplications, concerns about the biosafety of quantum dots (QDs) have increasingly attracted intensive attention. This study examines the toxic effect and subcellular location of cadmium telluride (CdTe) QDs with different sizes against yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The innovative approach is based on the combination of microcalorimetric, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and microscopic methods, which allows analysis of the toxic effect of CdTe QDs on S. cerevisiae and its mechanism. According to the values of the half inhibitory concentration (IC(50)), CdTe QDs exhibit marked cytotoxicity in yeast cells at concentrations as low as 80.81 nmol L(-1) for green-emitting CdTe QDs and 17.07 nmol L(-1) for orange-emitting CdTe QDs. QD-induced cell death is characterized by cell wall breakage and cytoplasm blebbing. These findings suggest that QDs with sizes ranging from 4.1 to 5.8 nm can be internalized into yeast cells, which then leads to QD-induced cytotoxicity. These studies provide valuable information for the design and development of aqueous QDs for biological applications.

Aligned Collagen-CNT Nanofibrils and the Modulation Effect on Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Fibrillar collagen is a one-dimensional biopolymer and is the most abundant structural protein in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of connective tissues. Due to the unique properties of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), considerable attention has been given to the application of CNTs in developing biocomposite materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. When introduced to tissues, CNTs inevitably interact and integrate with collagen and impose a discernible effect on cells in the vicinity. The positive effect of the collagen-CNT (COL-CNT) matrix in tissue regeneration and the cytotoxicity of free CNTs have been investigated extensively. In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of COL-CNT on mediating the interaction between the matrix and SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells. We generated unidirectionally aligned collagen and COL-CNT nanofibrils, mimicking the structure and dimension of collagen fibrils in native tissues. AFM analysis revealed that the one-dimensional structure, high stiffness, and low adhesion of COL-CNT greatly facilitated the polarization of SKOV3 cells by regulating the ß-1 integrin-mediated cell-matrix interaction, cytoskeleton rearrangement, and cell migration. Protein and gene level analyses implied that both collagen and COL-CNT matrices induced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the COL-CNT matrix prompted a higher level of cell transformation. However, the induced cells expressed CD44 at a reduced level and MMP2 at an increased level, and they were responsive to the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine. The results suggested that the COL-CNT matrix induced the transdifferentiation of the epithelial cancer cells to mature, less aggressive, and less potent cells, which are inapt for tumor metastasis and chemoresistance. Thus, the presence of CNT in a collagen matrix is unlikely to cause an adverse effect on cancer patients if a controlled dose of CNT is used for drug delivery or tissue regeneration.

Optimization of Glutaraldehyde Vapor Treatment for Electrospun Collagen/Silk Tissue Engineering Scaffolds.

Freestanding fibrous matrices with proper protein composition and desirable mechanical properties, stability, and biocompatibility are in high demand for tissue engineering. Electrospun (E-spun) collagen-silk composite fibers are promising tissue engineering scaffolds. However, as-spun fibers are mechanically weak and unstable. In this work, we applied glutaraldehyde (GA) vapor treatment to improve the fiber performance, and the effect on the properties of E-spun collagen-silk fibers was studied systematically. GA treatment was found to affect collagen and silk distinctively. Whereas GA chemically links collagen peptides, it induces conformational transitions to enrich ß-sheets in silk. The combined effects impose a control of the mechanical properties, stability, and degradability of the composite fibers, which are dependent on the extent of GA treatment. In addition, a mild treatment of the fibers did not diminish cell proliferation and viability. However, overly treated fibers demonstrated reduced cell-matrix adhesion. The understanding of GA treatment effects on collagen, silk, and the composite fibers enables effective control and fine tuning of the fiber properties to warrant their diverse in vitro and in vivo applications.

Effect of CNT on collagen fiber structure, stiffness assembly kinetics and stem cell differentiation.

Collagen is a native one-dimensional nanomaterial. Carbon nanotube (CNT) was found to interface with biological materials and show promising applications in creating reinforced scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In this study, we examined the unique role of CNT in collagen fiber structure, mechanical strength and assembly kinetics. The results imply that CNT interacts with collagen at the molecular level. It relaxes the helical coil of collagen fibrils and has the effect of flattening the fibers leading to the elongation of D-period, the characteristic banding feature of collagen fibers. The surface charge of oxidized CNT leads to enhanced local ionic strength during collagen fibrillogenesis, accounting for the slower kinetics of collagen-CNT (COL-CNT) fiber assembly and the formation of thicker fibers. Due to the rigidity of CNT, the addition of CNT increases the fiber stiffness significantly. When applied as a matrix for human decidua parietalis placental stem cells (hdpPSCs) differentiation, COL-CNT was found to support fast and efficient neural differentiation ascribed to the elongated D-period. These results highlight the superiority of CNT to modulate collagen fiber assembly at the molecular level. The study also exemplifies the use of CNT to enhance the functionality of collagen for biological and biomedical applications.