Tunable Macroscopic Alignment of Self-Assembling Peptide Nanofibers.

Progress in the design and synthesis of nanostructured self-assembling systems has facilitated the realization of numerous nanoscale geometries, including fibers, ribbons, and sheets. A key challenge has been achieving control across multiple length scales and creating macroscopic structures with nanoscale organization. Here, we present a facile extrusion-based fabrication method to produce anisotropic, nanofibrous hydrogels using self-assembling peptides. The application of shear force coinciding with ion-triggered gelation is used to kinetically trap supramolecular nanofibers into aligned, hierarchical macrostructures. Further, we demonstrate the ability to tune the nanostructure of macroscopic hydrogels through modulating phosphate buffer concentration during peptide self-assembly. In addition, increases in the nanostructural anisotropy of fabricated hydrogels are found to enhance their strength and stiffness under hydrated conditions. To demonstrate their utility as an extracellular matrix-mimetic biomaterial, aligned nanofibrous hydrogels are used to guide directional spreading of multiple cell types, but strikingly, increased matrix alignment is not always correlated with increased cellular alignment. Nanoscale observations reveal differences in cell-matrix interactions between variably aligned scaffolds and implicate the need for mechanical coupling for cells to understand nanofibrous alignment cues. In total, innovations in the supramolecular engineering of self-assembling peptides allow us to decouple nanostructure from macrostructure and generate a gradient of anisotropic nanofibrous hydrogels. We anticipate that control of architecture at multiple length scales will be critical for a variety of applications, including the bottom-up tissue engineering explored here.

Tunable Macroscopic Alignment of Self-Assembling Peptide Nanofibers.

Fibrous proteins that comprise the extracellular matrix (ECM) guide cellular growth and tissue organization. A lack of synthetic strategies able to generate aligned, ECM-mimetic biomaterials has hampered bottom-up tissue engineering of anisotropic tissues and led to a limited understanding of cell-matrix interactions. Here, we present a facile extrusion-based fabrication method to produce anisotropic, nanofibrous hydrogels using self-assembling peptides. The application of shear force coinciding with ion-triggered gelation is used to kinetically trap supramolecular nanofibers into aligned, hierarchical structures. We establish how modest changes in phosphate buffer concentration during peptide self-assembly can be used to tune their alignment and packing. In addition, increases in the nanostructural anisotropy of fabricated hydrogels are found to enhance their strength and stiffness under hydrated conditions. To demonstrate their utility as an ECM-mimetic biomaterial, aligned nanofibrous hydrogels are used to guide directional spreading of multiple cell types, but strikingly, increased matrix alignment is not always correlated with increased cellular alignment. Nanoscale observations reveal differences in cell-matrix interactions between variably aligned scaffolds and implicate the need for mechanical coupling for cells to understand nanofibrous alignment cues. In total, innovations in the supramolecular engineering of self-assembling peptides allow us to generate a gradient of anisotropic nanofibrous hydrogels, which are used to better understand directed cell growth.

3D Printing of Self-Assembling Nanofibrous Multidomain Peptide Hydrogels.

3D printing has become one of the primary fabrication strategies used in biomedical research. Recent efforts have focused on the 3D printing of hydrogels to create structures that better replicate the mechanical properties of biological tissues. These pose a unique challenge, as soft materials are difficult to pattern in three dimensions with high fidelity. Currently, a small number of biologically derived polymers that form hydrogels are frequently reused for 3D printing applications. Thus, there exists a need for novel hydrogels with desirable biological properties that can be used as 3D printable inks. In this work, the printability of multidomain peptides (MDPs), a class of self-assembling peptides that form a nanofibrous hydrogel at low concentrations, is established. MDPs with different charge functionalities are optimized as distinct inks and are used to create complex 3D structures, including multi-MDP prints. Additionally, printed MDP constructs are used to demonstrate charge-dependent differences in cellular behavior in vitro. This work presents the first time that self-assembling peptides have been used to print layered structures with overhangs and internal porosity. Overall, MDPs are a promising new class of 3D printable inks that are uniquely peptide-based and rely solely on supramolecular mechanisms for assembly.

PET of (R)-11C-rolipram binding to phosphodiesterase-4 is reproducible and sensitive to increased norepinephrine in the rat heart.

UNLABELLED: Phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) plays a critical role in the regulation of ß-adrenergic receptor-stimulated cyclic adenosine monophosphate cell signaling in the heart. (R)-rolipram, a PDE4-selective inhibitor, has been studied previously as a radiotracer for the quantification of PDE4 levels. The aim of this study was to characterize (R)-(11)C-rolipram binding in the rat myocardium in vivo, using small-animal PET. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 30) were administered (R)-(11)C-rolipram and imaged for 60 min to evaluate tracer binding and reproducibility, quantified using Logan slope analysis of the distribution volume. Dynamic (13)N-ammonia imaging was performed to quantify myocardial blood flow and assist in cardiac regional analysis. Saturation studies evaluated the sensitivity of (R)-(11)C-rolipram to PDE4 blocking by unlabeled cold (R)-rolipram (0.0001-1.0 mg/kg), for estimation of the median effective dose (ED(50)) in the heart. (R)-(11)C-rolipram response to enhanced norepinephrine stimulation of the ß-adrenergic receptor with desipramine (20 mg/kg, intravenous) was also studied. Intrarat variability studies (n = 5) were conducted with test-retest imaging at 16 ± 7 d. RESULTS: A reduction of Logan slope was observed with increasing cold mass coadministered with the tracer, with an ED(50) of 0.0019 mg/kg (95% confidence interval, 0.0014-0.0052) estimated from the saturation studies. This ED(50) predicted less than 10% enzyme occupancy at 0.0002 mg of cold (R)-rolipram per kilogram (mass/body weight). Low-occupancy imaging at 0.00018 ± 0.00002 mg/kg produced a mean Logan slope of 5.5 ± 0.85 mL/cm(3). Enzyme saturation of more than 90%, compared with low-occupancy conditions, occurred at more than 0.02 mg/kg, with a complete blocking dose (>1 mg of (R)-rolipram per kilogram) resulting in a Logan slope of 3.3 ± 0.1 mL/cm(3), representing a 40% reduction. Compared with baseline, a Logan slope of 6.8 ± 0.7 mL/cm(3) in desipramine-challenged animals was observed, representing a 30% increase due to acute norepinephrine stimulation, despite a reduction in myocardial blood flow. Intrarat and intraoperator variability was less than 5% between repeated measures. CONCLUSION: (R)-(11)C-rolipram shows the ability to monitor increases and decreases in PDE4 availability in the rat myocardium, with good reproducibility.