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  • Richard posted an update 1 year, 1 month ago

    Enzymatic cross-linking of polymer-catechol conjugates in the presence of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and H2O2 has emerged as an important method to fabricate in situ-forming, injectable hydrogels. Subsequently, tissue adhesion studies using catechol-containing polymers were extensively reported. However, because of the presence of numerous variables such as polymer concentration, oxidizing agent/enzyme, and stoichiometry, the design of the polymer with optimized tissue adhesive property is still challenging. In this study, a poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA)-dopamine (PGADA) conjugate was synthesized, and in situ hydrogels were fabricated via enzymatic cross-linking of a catechol moiety. To optimize the tissue adhesive property of the PGADA hydrogel, the effect of various factors, such as polymer concentration, catechol substitution degree (DS), HRP concentration, and H2O2 content, on the gelation behavior and mechanical strength was investigated. The gelation behavior of PGADA hydrogels was characterized using a rheometer and rotational viscometer. Also, the possibility of its use as a tissue adhesive was examined by evaluating the tissue adhesion strength in vitro and ex vivo.The successful tissue integration of a biomedical material is mainly determined by the inflammatory response after implantation. Macrophage behavior toward implanted materials is pivotal to determine the extent of the inflammatory response. Hydrogels with different properties have been developed for various biomedical applications such as wound dressings or cell-loaded scaffolds. However, there is limited investigation available on the effects of hydrogel mechanical properties on macrophage behavior and the further host inflammatory response. To this end, methacrylate-gelatin (GelMA) hydrogels were selected as a model material to study the effect of hydrogel stiffness (2, 10, and 29 kPa) on macrophage phenotype in vitro and the further host inflammatory response in vivo. Our data showed that macrophages seeded on stiffer surfaces tended to induce macrophages toward a proinflammatory (M1) phenotype with increased macrophage spreading, more defined F-actin and focal adhesion staining, and more proinflammatory cytokine secretion and cluster of differentiation (CD) marker expression compared to those on surfaces with a lower stiffness. When these hydrogels were further subcutaneously implanted in mice to assess their inflammatory response, GelMA hydrogels with a lower stiffness showed more macrophage infiltration but thinner fibrotic capsule formation. The more severe inflammatory response can be attributed to the higher percentage of M1 macrophages induced by GelMA hydrogels with a higher stiffness. Collectively, our data demonstrated that macrophage behavior and the further inflammatory response are mechanically regulated by hydrogel stiffness. The macrophage phenotype rather than the macrophage number predominately determined the inflammatory response after the implantation, which can provide new insights into the future design and application of novel hydrogel-based biomaterials.The promise of antiangiogenic therapy for the treatment of breast cancer has been limited by the inability to selectively disrupt the established tumor vasculature. Here, we report the development of rationally designed antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) that can selectively recognize and attack breast tumor-associated endothelial cells (BTECs), while sparing normal endothelial cells (NECs). We first performed a quantitative and unbiased screening of a panel of cancer-related antigens on human BTECs and identified CD105 as the optimal ADC target on these cells. We then used clinically approved ADC linkers and cytotoxic drugs to engineer two CD105-targeted ADCs CD105-DM1 and CD105-MMAE and evaluated their in vitro efficacy in human BTECs and NECs. We found that both CD105-DM1 and CD105-MMAE exhibited highly potent and selective cytotoxicity against BTECs with IC50 values of 3.2 and 3.7 nM, respectively, significantly lower than their IC50 values on NECs (8-13 fold). CDDO-Im manufacturer Our proof-of-principle study suggests that CD105-targeted ADCs are promising antiangiogenic agents that have the potential to be used to inhibit the established tumor vasculature of breast tumors in a safe and precise manner.The foreign body response (FBR) has impaired progress of new implantable medical devices through its hallmark of chronic inflammation and foreign body giant cell (FBGC) formation leading to fibrous encapsulation. Macrophages are known to drive the FBR, but efforts to control macrophage polarization remain challenging. The goal for this study was to investigate whether prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and specifically its receptors EP2 and/or EP4, attenuate classically activated (i.e., inflammatory) macrophages and macrophage fusion into FBGCs in vitro. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in gene expression and protein production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) when treated with PGE2. This attenuation was primarily by the EP4 receptor, as the addition of the EP2 antagonist PF 04418948 to PGE2-treated LPS-stimulated cells did not recover TNF-α production while the EP4 antagonist ONO AE3 208 did. However, direct stimulation of EP2 with the agonist butaprost to LPS-stimulated macrophages resulted in a ∼60% decrease in TNF-α secretion after 4 h and corresponded with an increase in gene expression for Cebpb and Il10, suggesting a polarization shift toward alternative activation through EP2 alone. Further, fusion of macrophages into FBGCs induced by interleukin-4 (IL-4) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) was inhibited by PGE2 via EP2 signaling and by an EP2 agonist, but not an EP4 agonist. The attenuation by PGE2 was confirmed to be primarily by the EP2 receptor. Mrc1, Dcstamp, and Retlna expressions increased upon IL-4/GM-CSF stimulation, but only Retnla expression with the EP2 agonist returned to levels that were not different from controls. This study identified that PGE2 attenuates classically activated macrophages and macrophage fusion through distinct EP receptors, while targeting EP2 is able to attenuate both. In summary, this study identified EP2 as a potential therapeutic target for reducing the FBR to biomaterials.

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