Bioactive scaffolds with enhanced supramolecular motion promote recovery from spinal cord injury

• DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3602
• Publication Date: 2021-11-11T18:55:42Z
• Authors: Z. Álvarez; A. N. Kolberg-Ede...; I. R. Sasselli; J. A. Ortega; R. Qiu; Z. Syrgiannis; P. A. Mirau; F. Chen; S. M. Chin; S. Weigand; E. Kiskinis; S. I. Stupp
• Keywords: Motor Neurons; Cell Survival; Polymers; Integrin beta1; Nanofibers; Neovascularization, Physiologic; Recovery of Function; Mice; Neural Stem Cells; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; Animals; Humans; Computer Simulation; Protein Conformation, beta-Strand; Laminin; Peptidomimetics; Receptor, Fibroblast Growth Factor, Type 2; Peptides; Spinal Cord Injuries; Signal Transduction

Fibril motion improves peptide signaling

Artificial scaffolds that bear the peptide-signaling sequences of proteins for tissue regeneration often have limited effectiveness. Álvarez et al . synthesized supramolecular peptide fibril scaffolds bearing two peptide sequences that promote nerve regeneration, one that reduces glial scarring and another that promotes blood vessel formation (see the Perspective by Wojciechowski and Stevens). In a mouse model of paralyzing human spinal cord injury, mutations in a tetrapeptide domain outside of the signaling regions improved recovery by promoting intense supramolecular motion within the fibrils. The mutation with the most intense dynamics resulted in corticospinal axon regrowth and myelination, functional revascularization, and motor neuron survival. —PDS