Peptide gels of fully-defined composition and mechanics for probing cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in vitro.

Peptide gels of fully-defined composition and mechanics for probing cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in vitro. Matrix Biol. 2019 Jul 08;: Authors: Ashworth JC, Thompson JL, James JR, Slater CE, Pijuan-Galitó S, Lis-Slimak K, Holley RJ, Meade KA, Thompson A, Arkill KP, Tassieri M, Wright AJ, Farnie G, Merry CLR Abstract Current materials used for in vitro 3D cell culture are often limited by their poor similarity to human tissue, batch-to-batch variability and complexity of composition and manufacture. Here, we present a "blank slate" culture environment based on a self-assembling peptide gel free from matrix motifs. The gel can be customised by incorporating matrix components selected to match the target tissue, with independent control of mechanical properties. Therefore the matrix components are restricted to those specifically added, or those synthesised by encapsulated cells. The flexible 3D culture platform provides full control over biochemical and physical properties, allowing the impact of biochemical composition and tissue mechanics to be separately evaluated in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that the peptide gels support the growth of a range of cells including human induced pluripotent stem cells and human cancer cell lines. Furthermore, we present proof-of-concept the peptide gels can be used to build disease-relevant models. Controlling the peptide gelator concentration allows peptide gel stiffness to be matched to n...
Source: Matrix Biology - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Matrix Biol Source Type: research