Small functional groups presented on peptide nanofibers for determining fate of rat mesenchymal stem cells
Author
Yaşa, Öncay
Advisor
Tekinay, Ayşe Begüm
Date
2014Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are negatively-charged, unbranched
polysaccharides that play important roles in various biological processes and are vital
for the regeneration of damaged tissues. Like other natural extracellular matrix
components, glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans show considerable variation in
local concentration and chemical composition depending on tissue type. They are
found in various connective tissues, including bone, cartilage and fat, and display
strong water-binding capacity due to their negative charges. Mechanical characters of
GAGs are heavily influenced by the degree and pattern of sulfation, which may
greatly alter their viscoelasticity and physiological functions. Variations in GAG
sulfation patterns are created principally through extracellular matrix modeling. Due
to their extracellular matrix-organizing abilities, glycosaminoglycans are promising
biomacromolecules for the design of new bioactive materials for tissue engineering
and tissue reconstruction applications. In this study, we functionalized peptide
amphiphile molecules with carboxylate and sulfonate groups to develop nanofibrous networks displaying a range of chemical patterns, and evaluated the effect of the
chemical groups over the differentiation fate of rat mesenchymal stem cells. We
demonstrate that higher sulfonate-to-glucose ratios are associated with adipogenesis,
while higher carboxylate-to-glucose ratios resulted in chondrogenic and osteogenic
differentiation of the rat mesenchymal stem cells.
Keywords
Peptide NanofibersExtracellular Matrix
Glycosaminoglycans
Biomimetic
Mesenchymal Stem Cells