Biocatalytic Buoyancy-Driven Nanobots for Autonomous Cell Recognition and Enrichment.

Autonomously self-propelled nanoswimmers represent the next-generation nano-devices for bio- and environmental technology. However, current nanoswimmers generate limited energy output and can only move in short distances and duration, thus are struggling to be applied in practical challenges, such as living cell transportation. Here, we describe the construction of biodegradable metal-organic framework based nanobots with chemically driven buoyancy to achieve highly efficient, long-distance, directional vertical motion to "find-and-fetch" target cells. Nanobots surface-functionalized with antibodies against the cell surface marker carcinoembryonic antigen are exploited to impart the nanobots with specific cell targeting capacity to recognize and separate cancer cells. We demonstrate that the self-propelled motility of the nanobots can sufficiently transport the recognized cells autonomously, and the separated cells can be easily collected with a customized glass column, and finally regain their full metabolic potential after the separation. The utilization of nanobots with easy synthetic pathway shows considerable promise in cell recognition, separation, and enrichment.

Engineered short forms of perlecan enhance angiogenesis by potentiating growth factor signalling.

Growth factors are key molecules involved in angiogenesis, a process critical for tissue repair and regeneration. Despite the potential of growth factor delivery to stimulate angiogenesis, limited clinical success has been achieved with this approach. Growth factors interact with the extracellular matrix (ECM), and particularly heparan sulphate (HS), to bind and potentiate their signalling. Here we show that engineered short forms of perlecan, the major HS proteoglycan of the vascular ECM, bind and signal angiogenic growth factors, including fibroblast growth factor 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor-A. We also show that engineered short forms of perlecan delivered in porous chitosan biomaterial scaffolds promote angiogenesis in a rat full thickness dermal wound model, with the fusion of perlecan domains I and V leading to superior vascularisation compared to native endothelial perlecan or chitosan scaffolds alone. Together, this study demonstrates the potential of engineered short forms of perlecan delivered in chitosan scaffolds as next generation angiogenic therapies which exert biological activity via the potentiation of growth factors.

Tuning the intentional corona of cerium oxide nanoparticles to promote angiogenesis via fibroblast growth factor 2 signalling.

Inadequate angiogenesis is a hallmark of conditions including cardiovascular diseases, stroke and chronic diabetic wounds, which exhibit tissue ischaemia ensuring that therapeutic strategies to promote angiogenesis are of great interest. However, many angiogenic treatments involve the delivery of growth factors which have limited clinical success due to poor stability, high manufacturing cost and poor efficacy. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) can either promote or inhibit angiogenesis depending on their surface corona chemistry. Here, nanoceria were functionalized with an intentional heparin corona, a polysaccharide which binds and signals growth factors, of different chain lengths and surface grafting density to establish their effect on angiogenesis. These nanoparticles promoted angiogenesis in vivo with the surface grafting density positively correlated with angiogenesis over the widest concentration range; however, chain length did not play a role. The heparin-nanoceria supported fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) signalling in vitro and promoted FGF2-mediated angiogenesis in vivo. The nanoparticles were internalized by endothelial cells in vitro where they trafficked to the lysosomes and reduced cell viability suggesting that the angiogenic activity of heparin-nanoceria is mediated in the extracellular environment. Together, this study adds to our knowledge of the angiogenic effects of heparin-nanoceria towards finding new angiogenic treatments.

ROS-Mediated Anti-Angiogenic Activity of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles in Melanoma Cells.

Angiogenesis plays a key role in cancer progression, including transition to the metastatic phase via reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathways, among others. Antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies have been trialed as an anti-angiogenic therapy for cancer but are associated with high cost, limited efficacy, and side effects. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) are promising nanomaterials for biomedical applications due to their ability to modulate intracellular ROS. Nanoceria can be produced by a range of synthesis methods, with chemical precipitation as the most widely explored. It has been reported that chemical precipitation can fine-tune primary particle size where a limited number of synthesis parameters were varied. Here, we explore the effect of temperature, precipitating agent concentration and rate of addition, stirring rate, and surfactant concentration on nanoceria primary particle size using a fractional factorial experimental design approach. We establish a robust synthesis method for faceted nanoceria with primary particle diameters of 5-6 nm. The nanoceria are not cytotoxic to a human melanoma cell line (Mel1007) at doses up to 400 µg/mL and are dose-dependently internalized by the cells. The intracellular ROS level for some cells that internalized the nanoceria is reduced, which correlates with a dose-dependent reduction in angiogenic gene expression including VEGF. These findings contribute to our knowledge of the anti-angiogenic effects of nanoceria and help to develop our understanding of potentially new anti-angiogenic agents for combination cancer therapies.

Effect of Recombinant Human Perlecan Domain V Tethering Method on Protein Orientation and Blood Contacting Activity on Polyvinyl Chloride.

Surface modification of biomaterials is a promising approach to control biofunctionality while retaining the bulk biomaterial properties. Perlecan is the major proteoglycan in the vascular basement membrane that supports low levels of platelet adhesion but not activation. Thus, perlecan is a promising bioactive for blood-contacting applications. This study furthers the mechanistic understanding of platelet interactions with perlecan by establishing that platelets utilize domains III and V of the core protein for adhesion. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is functionalized with recombinant human perlecan domain V (rDV) to explore the effect of the tethering method on proteoglycan orientation and bioactivity. Tethering of rDV to PVC is achieved via either physisorption or covalent attachment via plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment. Both methods of rDV tethering reduce platelet adhesion and activation compared to the pristine PVC, however, the mechanisms are unique for each tethering method. Physisorption of rDV on PVC orientates the molecule to hinder access to the integrin-binding region, which inhibits platelet adhesion. In contrast, PIII treatment orientates rDV to allow access to the integrin-binding region, which is rendered antiadhesive to platelets via the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain. These effects demonstrate the potential of rDV biofunctionalization to modulate platelet interactions for blood contacting applications.

Macrophages bind LDL using heparan sulfate and the perlecan protein core.

The retention of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a key process in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and largely mediated via smooth-muscle cell-derived extracellular proteoglycans including the glycosaminoglycan chains. Macrophages can also internalize lipids via complexes with proteoglycans. However, the role of polarized macrophage-derived proteoglycans in binding LDL is unknown and important to advance our understanding of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We therefore examined the identity of proteoglycans, including the pendent glycosaminoglycans, produced by polarized macrophages to gain insight into the molecular basis for LDL binding. Using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring technique, we established that classically activated macrophage (M1)- and alternatively activated macrophage (M2)-derived proteoglycans bind LDL via both the protein core and heparan sulfate (HS) in vitro. Among the proteoglycans secreted by macrophages, we found perlecan was the major protein core that bound LDL. In addition, we identified perlecan in the necrotic core as well as the fibrous cap of advanced human atherosclerotic lesions in the same regions as HS and colocalized with M2 macrophages, suggesting a functional role in lipid retention in vivo. These findings suggest that macrophages may contribute to LDL retention in the plaque by the production of proteoglycans; however, their contribution likely depends on both their phenotype within the plaque and the presence of enzymes, such as heparanase, that alter the secreted protein structure.

Biomimetic silk biomaterials: Perlecan-functionalized silk fibroin for use in blood-contacting devices.

Blood compatible materials are required for the development of therapeutic and diagnostic blood contacting devices as blood-material interactions are a key factor dictating device functionality. In this work, we explored biofunctionalization of silk biomaterials with a recombinantly expressed domain V of the human basement membrane proteoglycan perlecan (rDV) towards the development of blood compatible surfaces. Perlecan and rDV are of interest in vascular device development as they uniquely support endothelial cell, while inhibiting smooth muscle cell and platelet interactions. rDV was covalently immobilized on silk biomaterials using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII), a new method of immobilizing proteins on silk biomaterials that does not rely on modification of specific amino acids in the silk protein chain, and compared to physisorbed and carbodiimide immobilized rDV. Untreated and treated silk biomaterials were examined for interactions with blood components with varying degrees of complexity, including isolated platelets, platelet rich plasma, blood plasma, and whole blood, both under agitated and flow conditions. rDV-biofunctionalized silk biomaterials were shown to be blood compatible in terms of platelet and whole blood interactions and the PIII treatment was shown to be an effective and efficient means of covalently immobilizing rDV in its bioactive form. These biomimetic silk biomaterials are a promising platform toward development of silk-based blood-contacting devices for therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Blood compatible materials are required for the development of therapeutic and diagnostic blood contacting devices as blood-material interactions are a key factor dictating device functionality. In this work, we explored biofunctionalization of silk biomaterials with a recombinantly expressed domain V (rDV) of the human basement membrane proteoglycan perlecan towards the development of blood compatible surfaces. Perlecan and rDV are of interest in vascular device development as they uniquely support endothelial cell, while inhibiting smooth muscle cell and platelet interactions. rDV was covalently immobilized on silk biomaterials using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII), a new method of immobilizing proteins on silk biomaterials that does not rely on modification of specific amino acids in the silk protein chain. These biomimetic silk biomaterials are a promising platform toward development of silk-based blood-contacting devices for therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications.

A Biomimetic Approach toward Enhancing Angiogenesis: Recombinantly Expressed Domain V of Human Perlecan Is a Bioactive Molecule That Promotes Angiogenesis and Vascularization of Implanted Biomaterials.

Angiogenic therapy involving delivery of pro-angiogenic growth factors to stimulate new blood vessel formation in ischemic disease is promising but has seen limited clinical success due to issues associated with the need to deliver supra-physiological growth factor concentrations. Bio-inspired growth factor delivery utilizing the native growth factor signaling roles of the extracellular matrix proteoglycans has the potential to overcome many of the drawbacks of angiogenic therapy. In this study, the potential of the recombinantly expressed domain V (rDV) of human perlecan is investigated as a means of promoting growth factor signaling toward enhanced angiogenesis and vascularization of implanted biomaterials. rDV is found to promote angiogenesis in established in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis assays by potentiating endogenous growth factor signaling via its glycosaminoglycan chains. Further, rDV is found to potentiate fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) signaling at low concentrations that in the absence of rDV are not biologically active. Finally, rDV immobilized on 3D porous silk fibroin biomaterials promotes enhanced vascular ingrowth and integration of the implanted scaffolds with the surrounding tissue. Together, these studies demonstrate the important role of this biologically active perlecan fragment and its potential in the treatment of ischemia in both native and bioengineered tissues.

The Inter-α-Trypsin Inhibitor Family: Versatile Molecules in Biology and Pathology.

Inter-α-trypsin inhibitor (IαI) family members are ancient and unique molecules that have evolved over several hundred million years of vertebrate evolution. IαI is a complex containing the proteoglycan bikunin to which heavy chain proteins are covalently attached to the chondroitin sulfate chain. Besides its matrix protective activity through protease inhibitory action, IαI family members interact with extracellular matrix molecules and most notably hyaluronan, inhibit complement, and provide cell regulatory functions. Recent evidence for the diverse roles of the IαI family in both biology and pathology is reviewed and gives insight into their pivotal roles in tissue homeostasis. In addition, the clinical uses of these molecules are explored, such as in the treatment of inflammatory conditions including sepsis and Kawasaki disease, which has recently been associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection in children.

Microchannels Are an Architectural Cue That Promotes Integration and Vascularization of Silk Biomaterials in Vivo.

Functional integration of implanted biomaterials and bioengineered tissues in vivo requires effective and timely vascular ingrowth. While many vascularization strategies rely on delivery of angiogenic growth factors or endothelial cells to promote vascular ingrowth, the effect of physical and architectural features of biomaterials on the vascularization process is less well understood. Microchannels are a simple, accessible architectural feature frequently engineered into 3D biomaterials to promote mass transfer. In this study, the effect of microchannels on the integration and vascularization of 3D porous silk scaffolds was explored over a 14 week period. An array of 508 µm diameter microchannels spanning the length of critically sized, porous silk scaffolds significantly improved tissue ingrowth into the constructs. At week 6, all silk scaffolds (n = 8) with microchannels showed complete tissue infiltration throughout the construct, while only one of eight (12.5%) did so in the absence of microchannels. The presence of microchannels improved silk scaffold vascularization with significantly more vessels per unit area in the presence of microchannels. The vessel size distribution was similar in both scaffold types, but a shift in distribution toward smaller vessels was observed in the presence of microchannels. The blood vessels in silk scaffolds were perfused, functional and connected to the animal's cardiovascular system, as demonstrated by the presence of red blood cells in the vessel lumens, and effective delivery of a contrast agent the vessels inside the scaffold. This study demonstrates the utility of microchannels as a simple architectural feature that significantly improves vascularization and integration of implanted biomaterials.

CAF hierarchy driven by pancreatic cancer cell p53-status creates a pro-metastatic and chemoresistant environment via perlecan.

Heterogeneous subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) coexist within pancreatic cancer tissues and can both promote and restrain disease progression. Here, we interrogate how cancer cells harboring distinct alterations in p53 manipulate CAFs. We reveal the existence of a p53-driven hierarchy, where cancer cells with a gain-of-function (GOF) mutant p53 educate a dominant population of CAFs that establish a pro-metastatic environment for GOF and null p53 cancer cells alike. We also demonstrate that CAFs educated by null p53 cancer cells may be reprogrammed by either GOF mutant p53 cells or their CAFs. We identify perlecan as a key component of this pro-metastatic environment. Using intravital imaging, we observe that these dominant CAFs delay cancer cell response to chemotherapy. Lastly, we reveal that depleting perlecan in the stroma combined with chemotherapy prolongs mouse survival, supporting it as a potential target for anti-stromal therapies in pancreatic cancer.

Hyaluronidase-4 is produced by mast cells and can cleave serglycin chondroitin sulfate chains into lower molecular weight forms.

Mast cells represent a heterogeneous cell population that is well-known for the production of heparin and the release of histamine upon activation. Serglycin is a proteoglycan that within mast cell α-granules is predominantly decorated with the glycosaminoglycans heparin or chondroitin sulfate (CS) and has a known role in granule homeostasis. Heparanase is a heparin-degrading enzyme, is present within the α-granules, and contributes to granule homeostasis, but an equivalent CS-degrading enzyme has not been reported previously. In this study, using several approaches, including epitope-specific antibodies, immunohistochemistry, and EM analyses, we demonstrate that human HMC-1 mast cells produce the CS-degrading enzymes hyaluronidase-1 (HYAL1) and HYAL4. We observed that treating the two model CS proteoglycans aggrecan and serglycin with HYAL1 and HYAL4 in vitro cleaves the CS chains into lower molecular weight forms with nonreducing end oligosaccharide structures similar to CS stub neoepitopes generated after digestion with the bacterial lyase chondroitinase ABC. We found that these structures are associated with both the CS linkage region and with structures more distal toward the nonreducing end of the CS chain. Furthermore, we noted that HYAL4 cleaves CS chains into lower molecular weight forms that range in length from tetra- to dodecasaccharides. These results provide first evidence that mast cells produce HYAL4 and that this enzyme may play a specific role in maintaining α-granule homeostasis in these cells by cleaving CS glycosaminoglycan chains attached to serglycin.

Cancer Metastasis: The Role of the Extracellular Matrix and the Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycan Perlecan.

Cancer metastasis is the dissemination of tumor cells to new sites, resulting in the formation of secondary tumors. This process is complex and is spatially and temporally regulated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. One important extrinsic factor is the extracellular matrix, the non-cellular component of tissues. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are constituents of the extracellular matrix, and through their heparan sulfate chains and protein core, modulate multiple events that occur during the metastatic cascade. This review will provide an overview of the role of the extracellular matrix in the events that occur during cancer metastasis, primarily focusing on perlecan. Perlecan, a basement membrane HSPG is a key component of the vascular extracellular matrix and is commonly associated with events that occur during the metastatic cascade. Its contradictory role in these events will be discussed and we will highlight the recent advances in cancer therapies that target HSPGs and their modifying enzymes.

Targeted Delivery and Redox Activity of Folic Acid-Functionalized Nanoceria in Tumor Cells.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) are promising catalytic nanomaterials that are widely reported to modulate intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, nanoceria were synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis and functionalized with a cell-targeting ligand, folic acid (FA). The surface functionalization of nanoceria was stable, and FA enhanced the uptake of nanoceria via folate receptors. Internalized nanoceria and FA-nanoceria were localized predominantly in the cytoplasm. FA-nanoceria modulated intracellular ROS to a greater extent than the nanoceria in colon carcinoma cells, but induced ROS in ovarian cancer cells, likely due to their enhanced uptake. Together these data demonstrated that the functionalization of nanoceria with FA modulated their endocytosis and redox activity, and they may find application in the delivery of anticancer drugs in the future.

The multifaceted roles of perlecan in fibrosis.

Perlecan, or heparan sulfate proteoglycan 2 (HSPG2), is a ubiquitous heparan sulfate proteoglycan that has major roles in tissue and organ development and wound healing by orchestrating the binding and signaling of mitogens and morphogens to cells in a temporal and dynamic fashion. In this review, its roles in fibrosis are reviewed by drawing upon evidence from tissue and organ systems that undergo fibrosis as a result of an uncontrolled response to either inflammation or traumatic cellular injury leading to an over production of a collagen-rich extracellular matrix. This review focuses on examples of fibrosis that occurs in lung, liver, kidney, skin, kidney, neural tissues and blood vessels and its link to the expression of perlecan in that particular organ system.

Biodiversity of CS-proteoglycan sulphation motifs: chemical messenger recognition modules with roles in information transfer, control of cellular behaviour and tissue morphogenesis.

Chondroitin sulphate (CS) glycosaminoglycan chains on cell and extracellular matrix proteoglycans (PGs) can no longer be regarded as merely hydrodynamic space fillers. Overwhelming evidence over recent years indicates that sulphation motif sequences within the CS chain structure are a source of significant biological information to cells and their surrounding environment. CS sulphation motifs have been shown to interact with a wide variety of bioactive molecules, e.g. cytokines, growth factors, chemokines, morphogenetic proteins, enzymes and enzyme inhibitors, as well as structural components within the extracellular milieu. They are therefore capable of modulating a panoply of signalling pathways, thus controlling diverse cellular behaviours including proliferation, differentiation, migration and matrix synthesis. Consequently, through these motifs, CS PGs play significant roles in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis, morphogenesis, development, growth and disease. Here, we review (i) the biodiversity of CS PGs and their sulphation motif sequences and (ii) the current understanding of the signalling roles they play in regulating cellular behaviour during tissue development, growth, disease and repair.

Cell surface chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) binds to the basement membrane heparan sulphate proteoglycan, perlecan, and is involved in cell adhesion.

Chondroitin sulphate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) is a cell surface proteoglycan highly expressed by tumour, perivascular and oligodendrocyte cells and known to be involved cell adhesion and migration. This study showed that CSPG4 was present as a proteoglycan on the cell surface of two melanoma cell lines, MM200 and Me1007, as well as shed into the conditioned medium. CSPG4 from the two melanoma cell lines differed in the amount of chondroitin sulphate (CS) decoration, as well as the way the protein core was fragmented. In contrast, the CSPG4 expressed by a colon carcinoma cell line, WiDr, was predominantly as a protein core on the cell surface lacking glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains. This study demonstrated that CSPG4 immunopurified from the melanoma cell lines formed a complex with perlecan synthesized by the same cultured cells. Mechanistic studies showed that CSPG4 bound to perlecan via hydrophobic protein-protein interactions involving multiple sites on perlecan including the C-terminal region. Furthermore, this study revealed that CSPG4 interacted with perlecan to support cell adhesion and actin polymerization. Together these data suggest a novel mechanism by which CSPG4 expressing cells might attach to perlecan-rich matrices so as those found in connective tissues and basement membranes.

The Role of Heparan Sulfate in Inflammation, and the Development of Biomimetics as Anti-Inflammatory Strategies.

Key events that occur during inflammation include the recruitment, adhesion, and transmigration of leukocytes from the circulation to the site of inflammation. These events are modulated by chemokines, integrins, and selectins and the interaction of these molecules with glycosaminoglycans, predominantly heparan sulfate (HS). The development of HS/heparin mimetics that interfere or inhibit the interactions that occur between glycosaminoglycans and modulators of inflammation holds great potential for use as anti-inflammatory therapeutics. This review will detail the role of HS in the events that occur during inflammation, their interaction and modulation of inflammatory mediators, and the current advances in the development of HS/heparin mimetics as anti-inflammatory biotherapeutics.

Glycosaminoglycan and Proteoglycan-Based Biomaterials: Current Trends and Future Perspectives.

Proteoglycans and their glycosaminoglycans (GAG) are essential for life as they are responsible for orchestrating many essential functions in development and tissue homeostasis, including biophysical properties and roles in cell signaling and extracellular matrix assembly. In an attempt to capture these biological functions, a range of biomaterials are designed to incorporate off-the-shelf GAGs, typically isolated from animal sources, for tissue engineering, drug delivery, and regenerative medicine applications. All GAGs, with the exception of hyaluronan, are present in the body covalently coupled to the protein core of proteoglycans, yet the incorporation of proteoglycans into biomaterials remains relatively unexplored. Proteoglycan-based biomaterials are more likely to recapitulate the unique, tissue-specific GAG profiles and native GAG presentation in human tissues. The protein core offers additional biological functionality, including cell, growth factor, and extracellular matrix binding domains, as well as sites for protein immobilization chemistries. Finally, proteoglycans can be recombinantly expressed in mammalian cells and thus offer genetic manipulation and metabolic engineering opportunities for control over the protein and GAG structures and functions. This Progress Report summarizes current developments in GAG-based biomaterials and presents emerging research and future opportunities for the development of biomaterials that incorporate GAGs presented in their native proteoglycan form.