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    The molecular conformation of silk fibroin regulates osteogenic cell behavior by modulating the stability of the adsorbed protein-material interface

    Year: 2021

    Journal: Bone Res., Volume 9, FEB 11

    Authors: Long, Yanlin; Cheng, Xian; Jansen, John A.; Leeuwenburgh, Sander G. C.; Mao, Jing; Yang, Fang; Chen, Lili

    Organizations: National Key R&D Program of China [2017YFC1104301]; National Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Young Scholars [31725011]; China Scholarship Council [201606160095]

    Silk fibroin (SF) can be used to construct various stiff material interfaces to support bone formation. An essential preparatory step is to partially transform SF molecules from random coils to beta -sheets to render the material water insoluble. However, the influence of the SF conformation on osteogenic cell behavior at the material interface remains unknown. Herein, three stiff SF substrates were prepared by varying the beta -sheet content (high, medium, and low). The substrates had a comparable chemical composition, surface topography, and wettability. When adsorbed fibronectin was used as a model cellular adhesive protein, the stability of the adsorbed protein-material interface, in terms of the surface stability of the SF substrates and the accompanying fibronectin detachment resistance, increased with the increasing beta -sheet content of the SF substrates. Furthermore, (i) larger areas of cytoskeleton-associated focal adhesions, (ii) higher orders of cytoskeletal organization and (iii) more elongated cell spreading were observed for bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs) cultured on SF substrates with high vs. low beta -sheet contents, along with enhanced nuclear translocation and activation of YAP/TAZ and RUNX2. Consequently, osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs was stimulated on high beta -sheet substrates. These results indicated that the beta -sheet content influences osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs on SF materials in vitro by modulating the stability of the adsorbed protein-material interface, which proceeds via protein-focal adhesion-cytoskeleton links and subsequent intracellular mechanotransduction. Our findings emphasize the role of the stability of the adsorbed protein-material interface in cellular mechanotransduction and the perception of stiff SF substrates with different beta -sheet contents, which should not be overlooked when engineering stiff biomaterials.
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