title: Extracellular matrix formation in self-assembled minimalistic bioactive hydrogels based on aromatic peptide amphiphiles.
abstract: The hitherto inconsistency in clinical performance for engineered skin drives the current development of novel cell-scaffolding materials; one challenge is to only extract essential characteristics from the complex native ECM (extracellular matrix) and incorporate them into a scaffold with minimal complexity to support normal cell functions. This study involved small-molecule-based bioactive hydrogels produced by the co-assembly of two aromatic peptide amphiphiles: Fmoc-FF (Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-diphenylalanine) and Fmoc-RGD (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid). Three-dimensionally cultured human dermal fibroblasts deposited dense ECM networks including fibronectin and collagen I within the hydrogels in a 14-day culture. The fibroblasts organized the fibrous ECM and contracted the gel without differentiating into myofibroblasts. The stiffness of the cell-gel constructs increased dramatically due to ECM formation and gel contraction. This created an economical biomimetic model-scaffold to further understand skin reconstruction in vitro and supplied a design pathway to create versatile cell-scaffolds with varied bioactivities and simplicity.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Mi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Rein V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Ulijn
authors.affiliation: School of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gough
keywords: Extracellular matrix; fibroblasts; hydrogel; peptide