Design and development of artificial scaffolds capturing vascular endothelial progenitor cells with high efficiency for accelerating endothelialization

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K22507
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0403:Biomedical engineering and related fields
• Research Institution: Gihu University of Medical Science
• Principal Investigator: Isono Aoi 岐阜医療科学大学, 薬学部, 助教 (50880481)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 内皮化 / 細胞接着性ペプチド / 細胞足場 / セルインプリント

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The development of small-diameter vascular grafts with rapid endothelialization of the inner wall has been highly demanded. In this study, we synthesized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (pGMA) brushes on a glass substrate to use as an interface for immobilizing REDV peptide, a ligand for integrin α4β1 which is expressed in abundance by endothelial cells, and examined the functionality as artificial scaffolds for endothelialization. Immortalized human umbilical vein endothelial cell line (HUEhT-1) was used for the cell adhesion test. The results showed that the REDV peptide-immobilized pGMA brush surface significantly promoted the HUEhT-1 adhesion as compared with substrates without REDV peptide, indicating that the REDV peptide immobilized in pGMA brushes was effectively recognized by HUEhT-1 and the surface acted as an artificial scaffold for endothelial cell adhesion.

Free Research Field

ペプチド化学、高分子合成

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

6 mm以下の小口径人工血管は、生体内に移植後の長期開存率が不良であるため、自己移植血管以上に優れるものは存在せず、侵襲的な方法がとられてきた。このような背景から小口径人工血管の開発は医療現場や患者から切望されている。
本研究で内皮化を促進するために作成したREDV修飾pGMAは内皮細胞足場として効果的に機能することが示唆された。この足場は生体由来材料を必要とせず、また様々な材料表面に合成可能であることから、新たな人工血管材料として応用が期待される。