Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
Biomacromolecules. 2011 Jul 11;12(7):2475-87. doi: 10.1021/bm200149k. Epub 2011 Jun 9.
The design of new generation cardiovascular biomaterials focuses on biomimetic properties that are capable of eliciting specific cellular responses and directing new tissue formation. Synthetic poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) containing α-amino acid residues have the potential to elicit favorable cellular responses. Furthermore, they are biodegradable owing to the incorporation of naturally occurring amino acids. In this study, a family of PEAs was synthesized from selected α-amino acids using both solution and interfacial polymerization approaches to optimize their properties for vascular tissue engineering applications. By careful selection of the monomers and the polymerization approach, high-molecular-weight PEAs with low glass-transition temperatures were obtained. Human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMCs) cultured directly on bare PEA films attached and spread well up to 7 days of culture. Moreover, cell viability was significantly enhanced on all nonfunctional PEAs compared with tissue culture polystyrene controls. The trifluoroacetic acid salt of the lysine-containing functional PEAs was found to retard cell growth but still supported cell viability up to 5 days of culture. Immunostaining of HCASMCs revealed strong vinculin expression, suggesting that the HCASMCs initiated cellular processes for focal adhesion contacts with all PEA surfaces. Conversely, smooth muscle α-actin expression was not abundant on the PEA surfaces, suggesting a proliferative smooth muscle cell phenotype. Altogether, our results indicate that these PEAs are promising materials for vascular tissue engineering scaffolds.
新一代心血管生物材料的设计重点在于仿生特性，这些特性能够引发特定的细胞反应并指导新组织的形成。含有α-氨基酸残基的合成聚（酯酰胺）（PEAs）具有引发有利细胞反应的潜力。此外，由于掺入了天然存在的氨基酸，它们是可生物降解的。在这项研究中，使用溶液和界面聚合方法从选定的α-氨基酸合成了一系列 PEAs，以优化其用于血管组织工程应用的特性。通过仔细选择单体和聚合方法，可以获得具有低玻璃化转变温度的高分子量 PEAs。在裸 PEA 薄膜上直接培养的人冠状动脉平滑肌细胞（HCASMC）附着并良好扩展，培养至 7 天。此外，与组织培养聚苯乙烯对照相比，所有非功能 PEAs 上的细胞活力显着增强。赖氨酸功能化 PEAs 的三氟乙酸盐被发现会抑制细胞生长，但仍支持细胞活力培养至 5 天。HCASMC 的免疫染色显示强烈的 vinculin 表达，表明 HCASMC 开始了与所有 PEA 表面的焦点附着接触的细胞过程。相反，PEA 表面上平滑肌α-肌动蛋白的表达不丰富，表明平滑肌细胞呈增殖表型。总的来说，我们的结果表明这些 PEAs 是血管组织工程支架的有前途的材料。
