Efficient improvement of the proliferation, differentiation, and anti-arthritic capacity of mesenchymal stem cells by simply culturing on the immobilized FGF2 derived peptide, 44-ERGVVSIKGV-53.

INTRODUCTION: The stem cell microenvironment has been evidenced to robustly affect its biological functions and clinical grade. Natural or synthetic growth factors, especially, are essential for modulating stem cell proliferation, metabolism, and differentiation via the interaction with specific extracellular receptors. Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) possesses pleiotropic functions in various tissues and organs. It interacts with the FGF receptor (FGFR) and activates FGFR signaling pathways, which involve numerous biological functions, such as angiogenesis, wound healing, cell proliferation, and differentiation. OBJECTIVES: Here, we aim to explore the molecular functions, mode of action, and therapeutic activity of yet undetermined function, FGF-2-derived peptide, FP2 (44-ERGVVSIKGV-53) in promoting the proliferation, differentiation, and therapeutic application of human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (hWJ-MSCs) in comparison to other test peptides, canofin1 (FP1), hexafin2 (FP3), and canofin3 (FP4) with known functions. METHODS: The immobilization of test peptides that are fused with mussel adhesive proteins (MAP) on the culture plate was carried out via EDC/NHS chemistry. Cell Proliferation assay, colony-forming unit, western blotting analysis, gene expression analysis, RNA-Seq. analysis, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation capacity were applied to test the activity of the test peptides. We additionally utilized three-dimensional (3D) structural analysis and artificial intelligence (AI)-based AlphaFold2 and CABS-dock programs for receptor interaction prediction of the peptide receptor. We also verified the in vivo therapeutic capacity of FP2-cultured hWJ-MSCs using an osteoarthritis mice model. RESULTS: Culture of hWJ-MSC onto an FP2-immobilized culture plate showed a significant increase in cell proliferation (n = 3; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) and the colony-forming unit (n = 3; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) compared with the test peptides. FP2 showed a significantly upregulated phosphorylation of FRS2α and FGFR1 and activated the AKT and ERK signaling pathways (n = 3; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001). Interestingly, we detected efficient FP2 receptor binding that was predicted using AI-based tools. Treatment with an AKT inhibitor significantly abrogated the FP2-mediated enhancement of cell differentiation (n = 3; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001). Intra-articular injection of FP2-cultured MSCs significantly mitigated arthritis symptoms in an osteoarthritis mouse model, as shown through the functional tests (n = 10; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001), modulation of the expression level of the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory genes, and improved osteochondral regeneration as demonstrated by tissue sections. CONCLUSION: Our study identified the FGF-2-derived peptide FP2 as a promising candidate peptide to improve the therapeutic potential of hWJ-MSCs, especially in bone and cartilage regeneration.

Maintenance and differentiation of human ES cells on polyvinylidene fluoride scaffolds immobilized with a vitronectin-derived peptide.

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is biocompatible, easy to fabricate, and has piezoelectric properties; it has been used for many biomedical applications including stem cell engineering. However, long-term cultivation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their differentiation toward cardiac lineages on PVDF have not been investigated. Herein, PVDF nanoscaled membrane scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning; a vitronectin-derived peptide-mussel adhesive protein fusion (VNm) was immobilized on the scaffolds. hESCs cultured on the VNm-coated PVDF scaffold (VNm-PVDF scaffold) were stably expanded for more than 10 passages while maintaining the expression of pluripotency markers and genomic integrity. Under cardiac differentiation conditions, hESCs on the VNm-PVDF scaffold generated more spontaneously beating colonies and showed the upregulation of cardiac-related genes, compared with those cultured on Matrigel and VNm alone. Thus, VNm-PVDF scaffolds may be suitable for the long-term culture of hESCs and their differentiation into cardiac cells, thus expanding their application in regenerative medicine.

The immobilization of fibronectin- and fibroblast growth factor 2-derived peptides on a culture plate supports the attachment and proliferation of human pluripotent stem cells.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) offer a promising tool for regenerative medicine. The clinical application of PSCs inevitably requires a large-scale culture in a highly defined environment. The present study aimed to devise defined coating materials for the efficient adhesion and proliferation of human PSCs (hPSCs). We tested the activity of seven fibronectin-derived peptides and three laminin-derived peptides for the attachment and proliferation of hPSCs through their immobilization on the bottom of culture dishes by creating a fusion protein with the mussel adhesion protein. Among the extracellular matrix (ECM) mimetics tested, one fibronectin-derived peptide, PHSRN-GRGDSP, significantly promoted adhesion, enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity, and increased pluripotency-related gene expression in hPSCs compared to Matrigel. Furthermore, co-immobilization of a particular canofin peptide derived from fibroblast growth factor 2 increased pluripotency marker expression, which may offer the possibility of culture without growth factor supplementation. Our findings afford a novel defined condition for the efficient culture of hPSCs and may be utilized in future clinical applications.

Associations between Household Latrines and the Prevalence of Diarrhea in Idiofa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Despite the importance of sanitation, few studies have assessed the effects of latrines on the health outcomes of children under 5 years of age. We assessed the relations between latrine coverage and the prevalence of diarrhea in children under 4 years of age. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the baseline data obtained as part of a longitudinal survey targeting 720 households in Idiofa, Bandundu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We categorized latrines according to the presence of each major component and investigated whether diarrhea prevalence of children under 4 years of age is associated with latrine availability and improvement. Latrines have health benefits regardless of whether they are improved. Also worth noting is that comparatively well-equipped and more appropriately managed latrines could prevent child diarrhea more effectively than less equipped or inappropriately managed latrines. Households who have a latrine with a superstructure, roof, and no flies (a partly improved latrine) were found to be 52% less likely to report cases of diarrhea than households with unimproved latrines (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.48, confidence interval [CI] = 0.31-0.76), which are all the other latrines not included in the partly improved latrine category. We have observed the profound protective effect of latrines with a superstructure. This study demonstrates that latrines are associated with significant improvements in health even when they do not fully meet the conditions of improved latrines. This study adds value to the limited evidence on the effect of latrines on health parameters by demonstrating that latrines have correlations with health benefits regardless of whether they are improved, as well as by elucidating the most essential components of improved latrines.