Calcium deposition in photocrosslinked poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) hydrogels encapsulated rat bone marrow stromal cells.

Reproducing the features of the extracellular matrix is important for fabricating three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for tissue regeneration. A collagen-like polypeptide, poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly), is a promising material for 3D scaffolds because of its excellent physical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. In this paper, we present a novel photocrosslinked poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) hydrogel as a 3D scaffold for simultaneous rat bone marrow stromal cell (rBMSC) encapsulation. The hydrogels were fabricated using visible-light photocrosslinking at various concentrations of methacrylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) (20-50 mg/ml) and irradiation times (3 or 5 min). The results show that the rBMSCs encapsulated in the hydrogels survived 7 days of incubation. Calcium deposition on the encapsulated rBMSCs was assessed with scanning electron microscope observation, Alizarin Red S, and von Kossa staining. The most strongly stained area was observed in the hydrogel formed with 30 mg/ml of methacrylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) with 5-min irradiation. These findings demonstrate that poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) hydrogels support rBMSC viability and differentiation, as well as demonstrating the feasibility of using poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) hydrogels as a cytocompatible, biodegradable 3D scaffold for tissue regeneration.

Cytocompatible polyion complex gel of poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) for simultaneous rat bone marrow stromal cell encapsulation.

Polyion complex (PIC) gel of poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) was successfully fabricated by simply mixing polyanion and polycation derivatives of poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly), a collagen-like polypeptide. The polyanion, succinylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly), and the polycation, arginylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly), contain carboxy (pKa = 5.2) and guanidinium (pKa = 12.4) groups, respectively. Mixing the polyanion and the polycation at physiological pH (pH = 7.4) resulted in PIC gel. The hydrogel formation was optimum at an equimolar ratio of carboxy to guanidinium groups, suggesting that ionic interaction is the main determinant for the hydrogel formation. The hydrogel was successfully used for simultaneous rat bone marrow stromal cell encapsulation. The encapsulated cells survived and proliferated within the hydrogel. In addition, the cells exhibited different morphology in the hydrogel compared with cells cultured on a tissue culture dish as a two-dimensional (2D) control. At day one, a round morphology and homogeneous single cell distribution were observed in the hydrogel. In contrast, the cells spread and formed a fibroblast-like morphology on the 2D control. After three days, the cells in the hydrogel maintained their morphology and some of them formed multicellular aggregates, which is similar to cell morphology in an in vivo microenvironment. These results suggest that the PIC gel of poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) can serve as a cytocompatible three-dimensional scaffold for stem cell encapsulation, supporting their viability, proliferation, and in vivo-like behavior.

Encapsulation of rat bone marrow stromal cells using a poly-ion complex gel of chitosan and succinylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly).

Encapsulation of stem cells into a three-dimensional (3D) scaffold is necessary to achieve tissue regeneration. Prefabricated 3D scaffolds, such as fibres or porous sponges, have limitations regarding homogeneous cell distribution. Hydrogels that can encapsulate cells such as animal-derived collagen gels need adjustment of the pH and/or temperature upon cell mixing. In this report, we fabricated a poly-ion complex (PIC) hydrogel of chitosan and succinylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) and assessed its effect on cell viability after encapsulation of rat bone marrow stromal cells. PIC hydrogels were obtained successfully with a concentration of each precursor as low as 3.0-3.8 mg/ml. The maximum gelation and swelling ratios were achieved with an equal molar ratio (1:1) of anionic and cationic groups. Using chitosan acetate as a cationic precursor produced a PIC hydrogel with both a significantly greater gelation ratio and a better swelling ratio than chitosan chloride. Ammonium succinylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly) as an anionic precursor gave similar gelation and swelling ratios to those of sodium succinylated poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly). Cell encapsulation was also achieved successfully by mixing rat bone marrow stromal cells with the PIC hydrogel simultaneously during its formation. The PIC hydrogel was maintained in the culture medium for 7 days at 37°C and the encapsulated cells survived and proliferated in it. Although it is necessary to improve its functionality, this PIC hydrogel has the potential to act as a 3D scaffold for cell encapsulation and tissue regeneration. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Acceleration of bone formation during fracture healing by poly(pro-hyp-gly)10 and basic fibroblast growth factor containing polycystic kidney disease and collagen-binding domains from Clostridium histolyticum collagenase.

Growth factor delivered in combination with animal-derived collagen materials has been used to accelerate bone fracture healing in human patients. However, the introduction of bovine proteins into humans carries the risk of zoonotic and immunologic complications. Here, we developed a collagen-like polypeptide-based bone formation system consisting of poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 , which mimics the triple helical conformation of collagen, and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) fused to the polycystic kidney disease (PKD) domain and collagen-binding domain (CBD) of Clostridium histolyticum collagenase. Circular dichroism spectral analysis showed that when pepsin-soluble bovine type I collagen was treated at 50°C, a positive signal corresponding to the collagen triple helix at 220 nm was not detected. In contrast, poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 retained the 220-nm positive peak, even when treated at 80°C. The combination of the collagen binding-bFGF fusion protein (bFGF-PKD-CBD) with poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 induced greater bone formation compared to bFGF alone in mice bone fracture models. Taken together, these properties suggest that the bFGF-PKD-CBD/poly(Pro-Hyp-Gly)10 composite is a promising material for bone repair in the clinical setting. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 1372-1378, 2016.