BMPR2 acts as a gatekeeper to protect endothelial cells from increased TGFß responses and altered cell mechanics.

Balanced transforming growth factor-beta (TGFß)/bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-signaling is essential for tissue formation and homeostasis. While gain in TGFß signaling is often found in diseases, the underlying cellular mechanisms remain poorly defined. Here we show that the receptor BMP type 2 (BMPR2) serves as a central gatekeeper of this balance, highlighted by its deregulation in diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). We show that BMPR2 deficiency in endothelial cells (ECs) does not abolish pan-BMP-SMAD1/5 responses but instead favors the formation of mixed-heteromeric receptor complexes comprising BMPR1/TGFßR1/TGFßR2 that enable enhanced cellular responses toward TGFß. These include canonical TGFß-SMAD2/3 and lateral TGFß-SMAD1/5 signaling as well as formation of mixed SMAD complexes. Moreover, BMPR2-deficient cells express genes indicative of altered biophysical properties, including up-regulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins such as fibrillin-1 (FBN1) and of integrins. As such, we identified accumulation of ectopic FBN1 fibers remodeled with fibronectin (FN) in junctions of BMPR2-deficient ECs. Ectopic FBN1 deposits were also found in proximity to contractile intimal cells in pulmonary artery lesions of BMPR2-deficient heritable PAH (HPAH) patients. In BMPR2-deficient cells, we show that ectopic FBN1 is accompanied by active ß1-integrin highly abundant in integrin-linked kinase (ILK) mechano-complexes at cell junctions. Increased integrin-dependent adhesion, spreading, and actomyosin-dependent contractility facilitates the retrieval of active TGFß from its latent fibrillin-bound depots. We propose that loss of BMPR2 favors endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) allowing cells of myo-fibroblastic character to create a vicious feed-forward process leading to hyperactivated TGFß signaling. In summary, our findings highlight a crucial role for BMPR2 as a gatekeeper of endothelial homeostasis protecting cells from increased TGFß responses and integrin-mediated mechano-transduction.

Monitoring Changes in Biochemical and Biomechanical Properties of Collagenous Tissues Using Label-Free and Nondestructive Optical Imaging Techniques.

We demonstrate the ability of nondestructive optical imaging techniques such as second-harmonic generation (SHG), two-photon fluorescence (TPF), fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM), and Raman spectroscopy (RS) to monitor biochemical and mechanical alterations in tissues upon collagen degradation. Decellularized equine pericardium (EP) was treated with 50 µg/mL bacterial collagenase at 37 °C for 8, 16, 24, and 32 h. The SHG ratio (defined as the normalized ratio between SHG and TPF signals) remained unchanged for untreated EP (stored in phosphate-buffered solution (PBS)), whereas treated EP showed a trend of a decreasing SHG ratio with increasing collagen degradation. In the fluorescence domain, treated EP experienced a red-shifted emission and the fluorescence lifetime had a trend of decreasing lifetime with increasing collagen digestion. RS monitors collagen degradation, the spectra had less intense Raman bands at 814, 852, 938, 1242, and 1270 cm-1. Non-negative least-squares (NNLS) modeling quantifies collagen loss and relative increase of elastin. The Young's modulus, derived from atomic force microscope-based nanoindentation experiments, showed a rapid decrease within the first 8 h of collagen degradation, whereas more gradual changes were observed for optical modalities. We conclude that optical imaging techniques like SHG, RS, and FLIM can monitor collagen degradation in a label-free manner and coarsely access mechanical properties in a nondestructive manner.

Spatiotemporal Measurement of Osmotic Pressures by FRET Imaging.

Osmotic pressures (OPs) play essential roles in biological processes and numerous technological applications. However, the measurement of OP in situ with spatiotemporal resolution has not been achieved so far. Herein, we introduce a novel kind of OP sensor based on liposomes loaded with water-soluble fluorescent dyes exhibiting resonance energy transfer (FRET). The liposomes experience volume changes in response to OP due to water outflux. The FRET efficiency depends on the average distance between the entrapped dyes and thus provides a direct measure of the OP surrounding each liposome. The sensors exhibit high sensitivity to OP in the biologically relevant range of 0-0.3 MPa in aqueous solutions of salt, small organic molecules, and macromolecules. With the help of FRET microscopy, we demonstrate the feasibility of spatiotemporal OP imaging, which can be a promising new tool to investigate phenomena involving OPs and their dynamics in biology and technology.

Fortified Coiled Coils: Enhancing Mechanical Stability with Lactam or Metal Staples.

Coiled coils (CCs) are powerful supramolecular building blocks for biomimetic materials, increasingly used for their mechanical properties. Here, we introduce helix-inducing macrocyclic constraints, so-called staples, to tune thermodynamic and mechanical stability of CCs. We show that thermodynamic stabilization of CCs against helix uncoiling primarily depends on the number of staples, whereas staple positioning controls CC mechanical stability. Inserting a covalent lactam staple at one key force application point significantly increases the barrier to force-induced CC dissociation and reduces structural deformity. A reversible His-Ni2+ -His metal staple also increases CC stability, but ruptures upon mechanical loading to allow helix uncoiling. Staple type, position and number are key design parameters in using helical macrocyclic templates for fine-tuning CC properties in emerging biomaterials.

Decoding Biomineralization: Interaction of a Mad10-Derived Peptide with Magnetite Thin Films.

Protein-surface interactions play a pivotal role in processes as diverse as biomineralization, biofouling, and the cellular response to medical implants. In biomineralization processes, biomacromolecules control mineral deposition and architecture via complex and often unknown mechanisms. For studying these mechanisms, the formation of magnetite nanoparticles in magnetotactic bacteria has become an excellent model system. Most interestingly, nanoparticle morphologies have been discovered that defy crystallographic rules (e.g., in the species Desulfamplus magnetovallimortis strain BW-1). In certain conditions, this strain mineralizes bullet-shaped magnetite nanoparticles, which exhibit defined (111) crystal faces and are elongated along the [100] direction. We hypothesize that surface-specific protein interactions break the nanoparticle symmetry, inhibiting the growth of certain crystal faces and thereby favoring the growth of others. Screening the genome of BW-1, we identified Mad10 (Magnetosome-associated deep-branching) as a potential magnetite-binding protein. Using atomic force microscope (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy, we show that a Mad10-derived peptide, which represents the most conserved region of Mad10, binds strongly to (100)- and (111)-oriented single-crystalline magnetite thin films. The peptide-magnetite interaction is thus material- but not crystal-face-specific. It is characterized by broad rupture force distributions that do not depend on the retraction speed of the AFM cantilever. To account for these experimental findings, we introduce a three-state model that incorporates fast rebinding. The model suggests that the peptide-surface interaction is strong in the absence of load, which is a direct result of this fast rebinding process. Overall, our study sheds light on the kinetic nature of peptide-surface interactions and introduces a new magnetite-binding peptide with potential use as a functional coating for magnetite nanoparticles in biotechnological and biomedical applications.

Extremely Compressible Hydrogel via Incorporation of Modified Graphitic Carbon Nitride.

Extremely compressible hydrogels are fabricated in one pot via sulfonic-acid-modified graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN-AHPA) as a visible light photoinitiator and reinforcer. The hydrogels show unusual compressibility upon applied stress up to 12 MPa, presenting temporary physical deformation, and remain undamaged after stress removal despite their high water content (90 wt%). Cyclic compressibility proves the fatigue resistance of the covalently and electrostatically reinforced system that possesses tissue adhesive properties, shock resistance, cut resistance, and little to no toxicity.

Structural determinants of coiled coil mechanics.

The natural abundance of coiled coil (CC) motifs in the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix suggests that CCs play a crucial role in the bidirectional mechanobiochemical signaling between cells and the matrix. Their functional importance and structural simplicity has allowed the development of numerous applications, such as protein-origami structures, drug delivery systems and biomaterials. With the goal of establishing CCs as nanomechanical building blocks, we investigated the importance of helix propensity and hydrophobic core packing on the mechanical stability of 4-heptad CC heterodimers. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy, we show that both parameters determine the force-induced dissociation in shear loading geometry; however, with different effects on the energy landscape. Decreasing the helix propensity lowers the transition barrier height, leading to a concomitant decrease in the distance to the transition state. In contrast, a less tightly packed hydrophobic core increases the distance to the transition state. We propose that this originates from a larger side chain dynamics, possible water intrusion at the interface as well as differences in solvation of the hydrophobic amino acids at the transition state. In conclusion, the different contributions of helix propensity and hydrophobic core packing need to be considered when tuning the mechanical properties of CCs for applications.

Trimeric coiled coils expand the range of strength, toughness and dynamics of coiled coil motifs under shear.

Coiled coils are widespread protein motifs in nature, and promising building blocks for bio-inspired nanomaterials and nanoscale force sensors. Detailed structural insight into their mechanical response is required to understand their role in tissues and to design building blocks for applications. We use all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the mechanical response of two types of coiled coils under shear: dimers and trimers. The amino acid sequences of both systems are similar, thus enabling universal (vs. system-specific) features to be identified. The trimer is mechanically more stable - it is both stronger and tougher - than the dimer, withstanding higher forces (127 pN vs. 49 pN at v = 10-3 nm ns-1) and dissipating up to five times more energy before rupture. The deformation mechanism of the trimer at all pull speeds is dominated by progressive helix unfolding. In contrast, at the lowest pull speeds, dimers deform by unfolding/refolding-assisted sliding. The additional helix in the trimer thus both determines the stability of the structure and affects the deformation mechanism, preventing helix sliding. The mechanical response of the coiled coils is not only sensitive to the oligomerization state but also to helix stability: preventing helix unfolding doubles the mechanical strength of the trimer, but decreases its toughness to half. Our results show that coiled coil trimers expand the range of coiled coil responses to an applied shear force. Altering the stability of individual helices against deformation emerges as one possible route towards fine-tuning this response, enabling the use of these motifs as nanomechanical building blocks.

Goodness of fit testing in dynamic single-molecule force spectroscopy.

Dynamic single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) is a powerful method to characterize the mechanical stability of biomolecules. We address the problem that the standard manner of reporting the extracted energy landscape parameters does not reveal the intrinsic statistical errors associated with them. This problem becomes particularly relevant when SMFS is used to compare two or more different molecular systems. Here, we propose two methods that allow for a straightforward test of statistical significance. We illustrate the power of the methods by applying them to the experimental results obtained for three dimeric coiled coils of different lengths. Both methods are general and may be applied to any problem involving the fit of models with two correlated parameters.

Affinity-Based Purification of Polyisocyanopeptide Bioconjugates.

Water-soluble polyisocyanopeptides (PICs) are a new class of synthetic polymers that mimic natural protein-based filaments. Their unique semiflexible properties combined with a length of several hundred nanometers have recently enabled a number of biomedical applications ranging from tissue engineering to cancer immunotherapy. One crucial step toward the further development of PICs for these applications is the efficient and controlled synthesis and purification of PIC-biomolecule conjugates. Considering the large size of PICs and the biomolecules to be conjugated, conjugation reactions do usually not proceed to completion due to steric effects. As a consequence, purification of the reaction mixture is necessary to separate the obtained bioconjugates from unreacted biomolecules. As a direct result of the semiflexible nature of PICs, standard polymer and protein purification methods based on molecular weight have not been successful. Here, we introduce a new affinity-based purification method utilizing biotin as an affinity tag. PICs decorated with a controlled and tunable density of biotin molecules (biotinPICs) were efficiently bound to and eluted from a monoavidin resin in buffered aqueous solution. Using these biotinPICs, two different protein conjugates were synthesized, one carrying the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) and the other T-cell activating anti-CD3 antibodies. The resulting biotinPIC-protein conjugates were successfully obtained in high purity (>90%) and without any loss of protein activity. The high purity greatly simplifies the analysis of biotinPIC bioconjugates, such as the determination of the average number of biomolecules conjugated per biotinPIC chain. Most importantly, it allows for the direct and straightforward application of the obtained bioconjugates in the desired applications. The new method developed may further be adapted for the purification of other advanced bioconjugates that are difficult to obtain in high purity with the available standard methods.

Mechanical Reversibility of Strain-Promoted Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition Reactions.

Mechanophores, that is, molecules that show a defined response to force, are crucial building blocks of mechanoresponsive materials. The possibility of mechanically induced cycloreversion for a series of triazoles formed via strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions was investigated by density functional theory calculations, and these triazoles were compared to the 1,4- and 1,5-regioisomers formed in the reaction of an azide with a terminal alkyne. We show that cycloreversion is in principal possible and that the pulling geometry is the most important parameter that determines the probability of cycloreversion. We further compared triazole stability to the mechanical stability of polymers that are frequently used as force transducers in mechanochemical experiments and identified DIBAC (azadibenzylcyclooctyne) as a promising mechanophore for future applications.

Interfacial Activation of Candida antarctica Lipase B: Combined Evidence from Experiment and Simulation.

Lipase immobilization is frequently used for altering the catalytic properties of these industrially used enzymes. Many lipases bind strongly to hydrophobic surfaces where they undergo interfacial activation. Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB), one of the most commonly used biocatalysts, is frequently discussed as an atypical lipase lacking interfacial activation. Here we show that CalB displays an enhanced catalytic rate for large, bulky substrates when adsorbed to a hydrophobic interface composed of densely packed alkyl chains. We attribute this increased activity of more than 7-fold to a conformational change that yields a more open active site. This hypothesis is supported by molecular dynamics simulations that show a high mobility for a small "lid" (helix α5) close to the active site. Molecular docking calculations confirm that a highly open conformation of this helix is required for binding large, bulky substrates and that this conformation is favored in a hydrophobic environment. Taken together, our combined approach provides clear evidence for the interfacial activation of CalB on highly hydrophobic surfaces. In contrast to other lipases, however, the conformational change only affects large, bulky substrates, leading to the conclusion that CalB acts like an esterase for small substrates and as a lipase for substrates with large alcohol substituents.

Heterogeneous and Cooperative Rupture of Histidine-Ni2+ Metal-Coordination Bonds on Rationally Designed Protein Templates.

Metal-coordination bonds, a highly tunable class of dynamic noncovalent interactions, are pivotal to the function of a variety of protein-based natural materials and have emerged as binding motifs to produce strong, tough, and self-healing bioinspired materials. While natural proteins use clusters of metal-coordination bonds, synthetic materials frequently employ individual bonds, resulting in mechanically weak materials. To overcome this current limitation, we rationally designed a series of elastin-like polypeptide templates with the capability of forming an increasing number of intermolecular histidine-Ni2+ metal-coordination bonds. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy and steered molecular dynamics simulations, we show that templates with three histidine residues exhibit heterogeneous rupture pathways, including the simultaneous rupture of at least two bonds with more-than-additive rupture forces. The methodology and insights developed improve our understanding of the molecular interactions that stabilize metal-coordinated proteins and provide a general route for the design of new strong, metal-coordinated materials with a broad spectrum of dissipative time scales.

Influence of Metal Cations on the Viscoelastic Properties of Escherichia coli Biofilms.

Biofilms frequently cause complications in various areas of human life, e.g., in medicine and in the food industry. More recently, biofilms are discussed as new types of living materials with tunable mechanical properties. In particular, Escherichia coli produces a matrix composed of amyloid-forming curli and phosphoethanolamine-modified cellulose fibers in response to suboptimal environmental conditions. It is currently unknown how the interaction between these fibers contributes to the overall mechanical properties of the formed biofilms and if extrinsic control parameters can be utilized to manipulate these properties. Using shear rheology, we show that biofilms formed by the E. coli K-12 strain AR3110 stiffen by a factor of 2 when exposed to the trivalent metal cations Al(III) and Fe(III), while no such response is observed for the bivalent cations Zn(II) and Ca(II). Strains producing only one matrix component did not show any stiffening response to either cation or even a small softening. No stiffening response was further observed when strains producing only one type of fiber were co-cultured or simply mixed after biofilm growth. These results suggest that the E. coli biofilm matrix is a uniquely structured composite material when both matrix fibers are produced from the same bacterium. While the exact interaction mechanism between curli, phosphoethanolamine-modified cellulose, and trivalent metal cations is currently not known, our results highlight the potential of using extrinsic parameters to understand and control the interplay between biofilm structure and mechanical properties. This will ultimately aid in the development of better strategies for controlling biofilm growth.

Chain Sliding versus ß-Sheet Formation upon Shearing Single α-Helical Coiled Coils.

Coiled coils (CCs) are key building blocks of biogenic materials and determine their mechanical response to large deformations. Of particular interest is the observation that CC-based materials display a force-induced transition from α-helices to mechanically stronger ß-sheets (αßT). Steered molecular dynamics simulations predict that this αßT requires a minimum, pulling speed-dependent CC length. Here, de novo designed CCs with a length between four to seven heptads are utilized to probe if the transition found in natural CCs can be mimicked with synthetic sequences. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, these CCs are mechanically loaded in shear geometry and their rupture forces and structural responses to the applied load are determined. Simulations at the highest pulling speed (0.01 nm ns-1 ) show the appearance of ß-sheet structures for the five- and six-heptad CCs and a concomitant increase in mechanical strength. The αßT is less probable at a lower pulling speed of 0.001 nm ns-1 and is not observed in force spectroscopy experiments. For CCs loaded in shear geometry, the formation of ß-sheets competes with interchain sliding. ß-sheet formation is only possible in higher-order CC assemblies or in tensile-loading geometries where chain sliding and dissociation are prohibited.

DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 regulates cellulose synthesis and affects primary cell wall mechanics.

The cell wall is one of the defining features of plants, controlling cell shape, regulating growth dynamics and hydraulic conductivity, as well as mediating plants interactions with both the external and internal environments. Here we report that a putative mechanosensitive Cys-protease DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 (DEK1) influences the mechanical properties of primary cell walls and regulation of cellulose synthesis. Our results indicate that DEK1 is an important regulator of cellulose synthesis in epidermal tissue of Arabidopsis thaliana cotyledons during early post-embryonic development. DEK1 is involved in regulation of cellulose synthase complexes (CSCs) by modifying their biosynthetic properties, possibly through interactions with various cellulose synthase regulatory proteins. Mechanical properties of the primary cell wall are altered in DEK1 modulated lines with DEK1 affecting both cell wall stiffness and the thickness of the cellulose microfibril bundles in epidermal cell walls of cotyledons.

Magnetite-binding proteins from the magnetotactic bacterium Desulfamplus magnetovallimortis BW-1.

Magnetite-binding proteins are in high demand for the functionalization of magnetic nanoparticles. Binding analysis of six previously uncharacterized proteins from the magnetotactic Deltaproteobacterium Desulfamplus magnetovallimortis BW-1 identified two new magnetite-binding proteins (Mad10, Mad11). These proteins can be utilized as affinity tags for the immobilization of recombinant fusion proteins to magnetite.

Adaptation of Escherichia coli Biofilm Growth, Morphology, and Mechanical Properties to Substrate Water Content.

Biofilms are complex living materials that form as bacteria become embedded in a matrix of self-produced protein and polysaccharide fibers. In addition to their traditional association with chronic infections or clogging of pipelines, biofilms currently gain interest as a potential source of functional material. On nutritive hydrogels, micron-sized Escherichia coli cells can build centimeter-large biofilms. During this process, bacterial proliferation, matrix production, and water uptake introduce mechanical stresses in the biofilm that are released through the formation of macroscopic delaminated buckles in the third dimension. To clarify how substrate water content could be used to tune biofilm material properties, we quantified E. coli biofilm growth, delamination dynamics, and rigidity as a function of water content of the nutritive substrates. Time-lapse microscopy and computational image analysis revealed that softer substrates with high water content promote biofilm spreading kinetics, while stiffer substrates with low water content promote biofilm delamination. The delaminated buckles observed on biofilm cross sections appeared more bent on substrates with high water content, while they tended to be more vertical on substrates with low water content. Both wet and dry biomass, accumulated over 4 days of culture, were larger in biofilms cultured on substrates with high water content, despite extra porosity within the matrix layer. Finally, microindentation analysis revealed that substrates with low water content supported the formation of stiffer biofilms. This study shows that E. coli biofilms respond to substrate water content, which might be used for tuning their material properties in view of further applications.

Influence of Network Topology on the Viscoelastic Properties of Dynamically Crosslinked Hydrogels.

Biological materials combine stress relaxation and self-healing with non-linear stress-strain responses. These characteristic features are a direct result of hierarchical self-assembly, which often results in fiber-like architectures. Even though structural knowledge is rapidly increasing, it has remained a challenge to establish relationships between microscopic and macroscopic structure and function. Here, we focus on understanding how network topology determines the viscoelastic properties, i.e., stress relaxation, of biomimetic hydrogels. We have dynamically crosslinked two different synthetic polymers with one and the same crosslink. The first polymer, a polyisocyanopeptide (PIC), self-assembles into semi-flexible, fiber-like bundles, and thus displays stress-stiffening, similar to many biopolymer networks. The second polymer, 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (starPEG), serves as a reference network with well-characterized structural and viscoelastic properties. Using one and the same coiled coil crosslink allows us to decouple the effects of crosslink kinetics and network topology on the stress relaxation behavior of the resulting hydrogel networks. We show that the fiber-containing PIC network displays a relaxation time approximately two orders of magnitude slower than the starPEG network. This reveals that crosslink kinetics is not the only determinant for stress relaxation. Instead, we propose that the different network topologies determine the ability of elastically active network chains to relax stress. In the starPEG network, each elastically active chain contains exactly one crosslink. In the absence of entanglements, crosslink dissociation thus relaxes the entire chain. In contrast, each polymer is crosslinked to the fiber bundle in multiple positions in the PIC hydrogel. The dissociation of a single crosslink is thus not sufficient for chain relaxation. This suggests that tuning the number of crosslinks per elastically active chain in combination with crosslink kinetics is a powerful design principle for tuning stress relaxation in polymeric materials. The presence of a higher number of crosslinks per elastically active chain thus yields materials with a slow macroscopic relaxation time but fast dynamics at the microscopic level. Using this principle for the design of synthetic cell culture matrices will yield materials with excellent long-term stability combined with the ability to locally reorganize, thus facilitating cell motility, spreading, and growth.

Bioinspired Histidine⁻Zn2+ Coordination for Tuning the Mechanical Properties of Self-Healing Coiled Coil Cross-Linked Hydrogels.

Natural biopolymeric materials often possess properties superior to their individual components. In mussel byssus, reversible histidine (His)-metal coordination is a key feature, which mediates higher-order self-assembly as well as self-healing. The byssus structure, thus, serves as an excellent natural blueprint for the development of self-healing biomimetic materials with reversibly tunable mechanical properties. Inspired by byssal threads, we bioengineered His-metal coordination sites into a heterodimeric coiled coil (CC). These CC-forming peptides serve as a noncovalent cross-link for poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels and participate in the formation of higher-order assemblies via intermolecular His-metal coordination as a second cross-linking mode. Raman and circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed the presence of α-helical, Zn2+ cross-linked aggregates. Using rheology, we demonstrate that the hydrogel is self-healing and that the addition of Zn2+ reversibly switches the hydrogel properties from viscoelastic to elastic. Importantly, using different Zn2+:His ratios allows for tuning the hydrogel relaxation time over nearly three orders of magnitude. This tunability is attributed to the progressive transformation of single CC cross-links into Zn2+ cross-linked aggregates; a process that is fully reversible upon addition of the metal chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. These findings reveal that His-metal coordination can be used as a versatile cross-linking mechanism for tuning the viscoelastic properties of biomimetic hydrogels.