Fabricated tropoelastin-silk yarns and woven textiles for diverse tissue engineering applications.

Electrospun yarns offer substantial opportunities for the fabrication of elastic scaffolds for flexible tissue engineering applications. Currently available yarns are predominantly made of synthetic elastic materials. Thus scaffolds made from these yarns typically lack cell signaling cues.

Freestanding hierarchical vascular structures engineered from ice.

The ability to engineer a synthetic hierarchical vascular network is one of the most demanding and unaddressed challenges in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. A material that is both structurally rigid and biocompatible is needed to fabricate freestanding hierarchical vascular structures with defined dimensions and geometry. This is particularly important for creating commercially viable and easily suturable synthetic vasculature.

Biomaterials and Modifications in the Development of Small-Diameter Vascular Grafts.

There remains a significant clinical need for an alternative to autologous vein grafts in small-diameter applications such as coronary bypass, but no clinically viable, synthetic small-diameter vascular grafts have been developed. While ePTFE and Dacron have long been used for large diameter grafts, it is likely that in small-diameter, low flow conditions, alternative materials and techniques are required, which have shown promising experimental results through enhancing compliance, biocompatibility, and endothelialization of vascular grafts. It is likely that the integration of synthetic materials that possess optimized mechanical properties combined with techniques for improved biocompatibility, such as the use of pure extracellular matrix proteins, will be the impetus for the creation of a new generation of clinically viable, small-diameter vascular substitutes.

Tropoelastin enhances nitric oxide production by endothelial cells.

Aims: This study aimed to characterize the role of tropoelastin in eliciting a nitric oxide response in endothelial cells.

Materials And Methods: Nitric oxide production in cells was quantified following the addition of known nitric oxide synthase pathway inhibitors such as LNAME and 1400W. The effect of eNOS siRNA knockdowns was studied using western blotting and assessed in the presence of PI3K-inhibitor, wortmannin.

Elastomers in vascular tissue engineering.

Elastomers are popular in vascular engineering applications, as they offer the ability to design implants that match the compliance of native tissue. By mimicking the natural tissue environment, elastic materials are able to integrate within the body to promote repair and avoid the adverse physiological responses seen in rigid alternatives that often disrupt tissue function. The design of elastomers has continued to evolve, moving from a focus on long term implants to temporary resorbable implants that support tissue regeneration.

Caveolin-1 scaffolding domain residue phenylalanine 92 modulates Akt signaling.

Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), the homo-oligomeric coat protein of cholesterol-rich caveolae signalosomes, regulates signaling proteins including endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). The Cav-1 scaffolding domain (a.a.

Characterization of Endothelial Progenitor Cell Interactions with Human Tropoelastin.

The deployment of endovascular implants such as stents in the treatment of cardiovascular disease damages the vascular endothelium, increasing the risk of thrombosis and promoting neointimal hyperplasia. The rapid restoration of a functional endothelium is known to reduce these complications. Circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are increasingly recognized as important contributors to device re-endothelialization.

Fabricated Elastin.

The mechanical stability, elasticity, inherent bioactivity, and self-assembly properties of elastin make it a highly attractive candidate for the fabrication of versatile biomaterials. The ability to engineer specific peptide sequences derived from elastin allows the precise control of these physicochemical and organizational characteristics, and further broadens the diversity of elastin-based applications. Elastin and elastin-like peptides can also be modified or blended with other natural or synthetic moieties, including peptides, proteins, polysaccharides, and polymers, to augment existing capabilities or confer additional architectural and biofunctional features to compositionally pure materials.

Tropoelastin: a versatile, bioactive assembly module.

Elastin provides structural integrity, biological cues and persistent elasticity to a range of important tissues, including the vasculature and lungs. Its critical importance to normal physiology makes it a desirable component of biomaterials that seek to repair or replace these tissues. The recent availability of large quantities of the highly purified elastin monomer, tropoelastin, has allowed for a thorough characterization of the mechanical and biological mechanisms underpinning the benefits of mature elastin.

The use of plasma-activated covalent attachment of early domains of tropoelastin to enhance vascular compatibility of surfaces.

All current metallic vascular prostheses, including stents, exhibit suboptimal biocompatibility. Improving the re-endothelialization and reducing the thrombogenicity of these devices would substantially improve their clinical efficacy. Tropoelastin (TE), the soluble precursor of elastin, mediates favorable endothelial cell interactions while having low thrombogenicity.

Elastin sequences trigger transient proinflammatory responses by human dermal fibroblasts.

Following penetrating injury of the skin, a highly orchestrated and overlapping sequence of events helps to facilitate wound resolution. Inflammation is a hallmark that is initiated early, but the reciprocal relationship between cells and matrix molecules that triggers and maintains inflammation is poorly appreciated. Elastin is enriched in the deep dermis of skin.

Familial hypobetalipoproteinemia-induced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Familial hypobetalipoproteinemia (FHBL) is a rare genetic disorder of lipid metabolism that is associated with abnormally low serum levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and apolipoprotein B. It is an autosomal co-dominant disorder, and depending on zygosity, the clinical manifestations may vary from none to neurological, endocrine, hematological or liver dysfunction. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is common in persons with FHBL, however progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is unusual.