Publications

The involvement of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in tumor progression has motivated the development of biomaterials mimicking the tumor ECM to develop more predictive cancer models. Particularly, polypeptides based on elastin could be an interesting approach to mimic the ECM due to their tunable properties. Here, we demonstrated that elastin-like recombinamer (ELR) hydrogels can be suitable biomaterials to develop breast cancer models. This hydrogel was formed by two ELR polypeptides, one containing sequences biodegradable by matrix metalloproteinase and cyclooctyne and the other carrying arginylglycylaspartic acid and azide groups to allow cell adhesion, biodegradability, and suitable stiffness through "click-chemistry" cross-linking. Our findings show that breast cancer or nontumorigenic breast cells showed high viability and cell proliferation for up to 7 days. MCF7 and MCF10A formed spheroids whereas MDA-MB-231 formed cell networks, with the expression of ECM and high drug resistance in all cases, evidencing that ELR hydrogels are a promising biomaterial for breast cancer modeling.

JTD Keywords: clinical-trials, collagen i, discovery, mcf-7 cells, phenotype, progression, spheroids, translation, tumor microenvironment, Extracellular-matrix

Limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs) are responsible for the renewal of corneal epithelium. Cultivated limbal epithelial transplantation is the current treatment of choice for restoring the loss or dysfunction of LESCs. To perform this procedure, a substratum is necessary for in vitro culturing of limbal epithelial cells and their subsequent transplantation onto the ocular surface. In this work, we evaluated poly-L/DL-lactic acid 70:30 (PLA) films functionalized with type IV collagen (col IV) as potential in vitro carrier substrata for LESCs. We first demonstrated that PLA-col IV films were biocompatible and suitable for the proliferation of human corneal epithelial cells. Subsequently, limbal epithelial cell suspensions, isolated from human limbal rings, were cultivated using culture medium that did not contain animal components. The cells adhered significantly faster to PLA-col IV films than to tissue culture plastic (TCP). The mRNA expression levels for the LESC specific markers, K15, P63α and ABCG2 were similar or greater (significantly in the case of K15) in limbal epithelial cells cultured on PLA-col IV films than limbal epithelial cells cultured on TCP. The percentage of cells expressing the corneal (K3, K12) and the LESC (P63α, ABCG2) specific markers was similar for both substrata. These results suggest that the PLA-col IV films promoted LESC attachment and helped to maintain their undifferentiated stem cell phenotype. Consequently, these substrata offer an alternative for the transplantation of limbal cells onto the ocular surface.

JTD Keywords: Corneal epithelium, Collagen IV, Limbal stem cells, Polylactic acid, Tissue engineering

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising cell source for cell-based therapies because of their self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation potential. Unlike embryonic stem cells adult stem cells are subject of aging processes and the concomitant decline in their function. Age-related changes in MSCs have to be well understood in order to develop clinical techniques and therapeutics based on these cells. In this work we have studied the effect of aging on adhesive behaviour of bone marrow-derived MSC and MG- 63 osteoblastic cells onto three extracellular matrix proteins: fibronectin (FN), vitronectin (VN) and collagen I (Coll I). The results revealed substantial differences in adhesive behaviour of both cell types during 21 days in culture. Bone-marrow derived MSCs decreased significantly their adhesive affinity to all studied proteins after 7th day in culture with further incubation. In contrast, MG-63 cells, demonstrated a stable cell adhesive phenotype with high affinity to FN and Coll I and low affinity to vitronectin over the whole culture period. These data suggest that adhesive behaviour of MSCs to matrix proteins is affected by aging processes unlike MG-63 cells and the age-related changes have to be considered when expanding adult stem cells for clinical applications.

JTD Keywords: Cell morphology, Cell attachment and spreading, Fibronectin, Vitronectin, Collagen I

A series of co-culture experiments between fibroblasts and H-460 human lung carcinoma cells were performed to learn more about the fate of adsorbed type IV collagen (Coll IV). Fibroblasts were able to spatially rearrange Coll IV in a specific linear pattern, similar but not identical to the fibronectin (FN) fibrils. Coll IV partly co-aligns with fibroblast actin cytoskeleton and transiently co-localize with FN, as well as with beta 1 and a 2 integrin clusters, suggesting a cell-dependent process. We further found that this Coll IV reorganization is suppressed in contact with H460 cells. Zymography revealed strongly elevated MMP-2 activity in supernatants of co-cultures, but no activity when fibroblasts or cancer cells were cultured alone. Thus, we provide evidence that reorganization of substrate associated Coll IV is a useful morphological approach for in vitro studies on matrix remodeling activity during tumorigenesis.

JTD Keywords: Adsorbed collagen IV reorganization, Fibroblasts and cancer cells co-culture, MMP-2