Aragonite-Polylysine: Neuro-Regenerative Scaffolds with Diverse Effects on Astrogliosis.

Tzachy Morad,Zvy Dubinsky,Ido Merfeld,Orly Eva Weiss,Eyal Canji,Ania Hava Grushchenko Polaq,Guy Sion,Roni Mina Hendler,Danny Baranes,Refael Minnes,Elimelech Nesher

doi:10.3390/polym12122850

Tzachy Morad, Zvy Dubinsky + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12122850

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Abstract

Biomaterials, especially when coated with adhesive polymers, are a key tool for restorative medicine, being biocompatible and supportive for cell adherence, growth, and function. Aragonite skeletons of corals are biomaterials that support survival and growth of a range of cell types, including neurons and glia. However, it is not known if this scaffold affects neural cell migration or elongation of neuronal and astrocytic processes, prerequisites for initiating repair of damage in the nervous system. To address this, hippocampal cells were aggregated into neurospheres and cultivated on aragonite skeleton of the coral Trachyphyllia geoffroyi (Coral Skeleton (CS)), on naturally occurring aragonite (Geological Aragonite (GA)), and on glass, all pre-coated with the oligomer poly-D-lysine (PDL). The two aragonite matrices promoted equally strong cell migration (4.8 and 4.3-fold above glass-PDL, respectively) and axonal sprouting (1.96 and 1.95-fold above glass-PDL, respectively). However, CS-PDL had a stronger effect than GA-PDL on the promotion of astrocytic processes elongation (1.7 vs. 1.2-fold above glass-PDL, respectively) and expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (3.8 vs. and 1.8-fold above glass-PDL, respectively). These differences are likely to emerge from a reaction of astrocytes to the degree of roughness of the surface of the scaffold, which is higher on CS than on GA. Hence, CS-PDL and GA-PDL are scaffolds of strong capacity to derive neural cell movements and growth required for regeneration, while controlling the extent of astrocytic involvement. As such, implants of PDL-aragonites have significant potential as tools for damage repair and the reduction of scar formation in the brain following trauma or disease.

Highlights

Biomaterials are a key tool in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering
We demonstrate that CS-PDL and GA-PDL enhance cell migration and axonal sprouting but CS-PDL is a stronger activator of astrocytic process elongation and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression, compared to a control of glass-PDL, probably due to its rougher surface
GA and thepromoters biologically motility and outgrowth, but has a greater effect in the activation of astrocytes. This difference, aragonite minerals are positively charged by PDL they are robust promoters of neural cell which as discussed below, may attributed thethe physical properties of the scaffolds, motility and outgrowth, but be hastoadissimilarities greater effectinin activation of astrocytes

Summary

Introduction

Many of them are biocompatible, cell adhesive, and supportive, and successfully applied for growth of a wide range of tissues including osseous, cardiac, skeletal muscles, and neuronal [1,2,3,4,5]. Aragonite has a biological origin; it is the main molecule in marine skeletons and shells. The skeletal aragonite is produced and deposited by the marine animals by the action of specific enzymes that generate micro crystalline structures in specific calcification centers, followed by their accumulation into fibrous aragonitic constructs [7]. The coralline aragonite is cell adhesive, supports cell growth in vitro [8,9,10] and has been used as bone replacement in animals [11,12,13]

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