title: Self-assembly of elastin-based peptides into the ECM: the importance of integrins and the elastin binding protein in elastic fiber assembly.
abstract: The formation of a suitable extracellular matrix (ECM) that promotes cell adhesion, organization, and proliferation is essential within biomaterial scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. In this work, short elastin mimetic peptide sequences, EM-19 and EM-23, were engineered to mimic the active motifs of human elastin in hopes that they can stimulate ECM development in synthetic polymer scaffolds. Each peptide was incubated with human aortic smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and elastin and desmosine production were quantified after 48 h. EM-19 inhibited elastin production through competitive binding phenomena with the elastin binding protein (EBP), whereas EM-23, which contains an RGDS domain, induces recovery of elastin production at higher concentrations, alluding to a higher binding affinity for the integrins than for the EBP and the involvement of integrins in elastin production. Colocalization of each peptide with the elastin matrix was confirmed using immunofluorescent techniques. Our data suggest that with appropriate cell-binding motifs, we can simulate the cross-linking of tropoelastin into the developing elastin matrix using short peptide sequences. The potential for increased cell adhesion and the incorporation of elastin chains into tissue engineering scaffolds make these peptides attractive bioactive moieties that can easily be incorporated into synthetic biomaterials to induce ECM formation.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0100, USA.
authors.forename: Dhaval
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Rohan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Menon
authors.forename: Lakeshia J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Taite
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004547:Elastic Tissue / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004549:Elastin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D016023:Integrins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D016023:Integrins; D009842:Oligopeptides; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C054901:elastin-binding proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D004549:Elastin