Tadashi Nakaji-Hirabayashi

Hyaluronic acid hydrogel loaded with genetically-engineered brain-derived neurotrophic factor as a neural cell carrier

Cell transplantation is a potential therapy for central nervous disorders such as Parkinsons disease. However, the therapeutic effect is limited by the low viability of transplanted cells. To solve this problem, we synthesized hyaluronic acid (HAc)-based hydrogel to be used as a carrier for neural cells. Another feature of the hydrogel synthesized here is to incorporate brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) for enhancing cell survival in the hydrogel. The cross-linking of HAc and the incorporation of BDNF were both achieved by employing the ability of a hexahistidine peptide to form stable chelate with metal ions. HAc was reacted with N-(5-amino-1-carboxypentyl) iminodiacetic acid and chelated with Zn(II) ions. An alpha-helical peptide of 70 amino acid residues carrying a hexahistidine peptide (His) at the both termini and BDNF carrying a His at the C-terminus were synthesized by recombinant DNA technology. These polypeptides were coordinated with the Zn(II) ions chelated to HAc chains for both the cross-linking of HAc and the tethering of BDNF. Viscosity measurements revealed that intermolecular cross-links were introduced in the Zn(II)-chelated HAc chains upon mixing with the His-containing helical peptide. It was shown by release tests that the coordinated BDNF was firmly bound to the Zn(II)-chelated HAc for more than 12 days. The results of cell culture experiments combined with live/dead assays demonstrated that a significantly higher fraction of neural cells survived 3 days post-seeding in the HAc-based hydrogel incorporating BDNF than in the control hydrogel lacking BDNF. These results suggest that the HAc-based hydrogel developed here has potential to improve survival of transplanted neural cells.

Enhanced proliferation of neural stem cells in a collagen hydrogel incorporating engineered epidermal growth factor

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have received much attention in cell-transplantation therapy for central nervous disorders such as Parkinsons disease. However, poor engraftment of transplanted cells limits the efficacy of the treatments. To overcome this problem, collagen-based hydrogels were designed in this study to provide microenvironments for embedded cells to survive and proliferate. Our approach was to incorporate epidermal growth factor (EGF), known as a mitogen for NSCs, into a collagen hydrogel. For the stable binding of EGF with collagen under mild conditions, EGF was fused with a collagen-binding polypeptide domain by recombinant DNA technology. A cell population containing NSCs was derived from the fetal rat brain and cultured in the composite hydrogels for 7 d followed by analysis for cell proliferation. It was shown that the number of living cells was significantly higher in hydrogels incorporating collagen-binding EGF. This effect is largely owing to the collagen-binding domain that serves to sustain presentation of EGF toward cells within the hydrogel. It is further revealed by gene expression analysis that cells proliferated in the EGF-incorporating collagen hydrogel contained subpopulations expressing the marker of stem cells, neurons, astrocytes, or oligodendrocytes.

Enhanced Survival of Neural Cells Embedded in Hydrogels Composed of Collagen and Laminin-Derived Cell Adhesive Peptide

To develop biomaterials that serve to improve the survival of neural cells transplanted into central nervous tissues, type I collagen-based hydrogels were prepared as a cell carrier. The hydrogels were modified with a laminin-derived peptide that is known to have an affinity for alpha3beta1 integrin, to transduce antiapoptotic signaling in embedded cells. For the modification of collagen, the peptide was fused to the N- or C-terminus, or both termini of a collagen-binding polypeptide domain by means of recombinant DNA technology. The chimeric proteins were characterized by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and circular dichroism spectroscopy, while binding of chimeric proteins to collagen-coated substrates was verified by surface plasmon resonance analysis under physiological conditions. Cell culture assays revealed that the adhesion of neurosphere-forming cells to collagen-coated polystyrene surfaces was significantly promoted by the incorporation of the chimeric proteins in a peptide-density dependent manner. The live/dead assays for cells cultured for 24 or 48 h in the hydrogels revealed that peptide incorporation improved the survival of cells embedded in collagen hydrogels. These results suggest that collagen hydrogel containing the laminin-derived peptide provides microenvironments suitable for the survival of neural cells.

Improvement of Neural Stem Cell Survival in Collagen Hydrogels by Incorporating Laminin-Derived Cell Adhesive Polypeptides

Cell transplantation is a potential methodology for the treatment of Parkinsons disease. However, the therapeutic effect is limited by poor viability of transplanted cells. To overcome this problem, we hypothesized that a dual step approach, whereby providing an adhesive substrate for transplanted cells and, at the same time, by preventing the infiltration of activated microglia into the site of transplantation promotes the cell survival. To establish above conditions, attempts were made to prepare 3-D matrices using collagen hydrogels that incorporated integrin-binding polypeptides derived from laminin-1. Tandem combinations of laminin globular domains as well as a single globular domain 3 were prepared using recombinant DNA technology as a fusion with hexahistidine and bound to metal chelated surfaces to screen for the adhesion and proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs). In addition, a small peptide derived from laminin γ1 chain was prepared and heterodimerized with the globular domain-containing chimeric proteins to evaluate for the enhancement of integrin-mediated cell adhesion. As a result, a heterodimer consisting of the globular domain 3 of the laminin α1 chain and the peptide from the laminin γ1 chain was selected as the best candidate among the polypeptides studied here for the incorporation into a collagen hydrogel. It was shown that the survival of NSCs was indeed promoted in the collagen hydrogel incorporating the heterodimer compared to the pure collagen hydrogel.

Surface-anchoring of spontaneously dimerized epidermal growth factor for highly selective expansion of neural stem cells.

To develop culture substrates for use in selective expansion of neural stem cells (NSCs), epidermal growth factor (EGF)-containing chimeric proteins were designed and synthesized by means of recombinant DNA technology. The chimeric proteins consisted of three components including an EGF domain, an alpha-helical oligopeptide, and a hexahistidine sequence. Two different alpha-helical oligopeptides were separately incorporated into chimeric proteins. Structural analyses by native gel electrophoresis and circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed that the heterodimer of these proteins was spontaneously formed through coiled-coil association of the alpha-helical oligopeptides. The monomeric and dimeric forms of these chimeric proteins were immobilized to the glass-based substrate via coordinate bonding between the hexahistidine and Ni(II) ions fixed on a substrate. The results of cell culture assays with NSCs showed that cells proliferated most rapidly and selectively on a substrate with the surface-anchored EGF dimer. The rate of cell proliferation on the surface with dimeric EGF was 1.3-2.0 times higher on the surfaces with monomeric EGF. In addition, the content of stem cells, determined 96 h after cell seeding, was highest on the surface with dimeric EGF (98%) among the surfaces studied (90-97% on surfaces with monomeric EGF). The observed growth rate and the stem cell content on the surface with EGF dimer were far beyond those in the standard neurosphere culture. The effect of surface-anchored dimeric EGF may be attributed to the enhanced dimerization of EGF-EGF receptor complexes leading to efficient signaling for mitogenic activity. We conclude that surface-anchoring of the EGF dimer provides an excellent substrate that allows the highly efficient expansion of NSCs.

In Vivo Study on the Survival of Neural Stem Cells Transplanted into the Rat Brain with a Collagen Hydrogel That Incorporates Laminin-Derived Polypeptides

Poor viability of cells transplanted into the brain has been the critical problem associated with stem cell-based therapy for Parkinsons disease. To overcome this problem, a collagen hydrogel incorporating an integrin-binding protein complex was prepared and used as a carrier for neural stem cells. The protein complex consisted of two polypeptides containing the G3 domain of a laminin α1 chain and the C-terminal oligopeptide of a laminin γ1 chain. These polypeptides were fused with α-helical segments which spontaneously formed a coiled-coil heterodimer and with the collagen-binding peptide that facilitated the binding of the heterodimer to collagen networks. In this study, neural stem cells stably expressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) were suspended in the hydrogel and transplanted into the striatum of healthy rats. The viability of transplanted cells was evaluated by histological analysis and quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for EGFP mRNA present in the tissue explants. Our results showed that the collagen hydrogel incorporating the integrin-binding protein complex serves to improve the viability of neural stem cells (NSCs) in the early stage after transplantation into the striatum.

Self-assembling chimeric protein for the construction of biodegradable hydrogels capable of interaction with Integrins expressed on neural stem/progenitor cells

The poor survival of neural stem/progenitor cells following transplantation into the brain is the major problem limiting the effect of cell-based therapy for Parkinsons disease. To overcome this problem, we are involved in designing keratin-based hydrogels that serve as physical barriers to prevent the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Another feature of the hydrogels is to contain a polypeptide that promotes integrin-mediated cell adhesion. To construct such hydrogels, a chimeric protein consisting of an alpha-helical polypeptide and a globular domain derived from laminin was synthesized by means of recombinant DNA technology and coassembled with extracted keratins that form hydrogels through intermolecular coiled-coil association of alpha-helical segments. It was found that neurosphere-forming cells specifically adhered to the keratin-based composite hydrogel and actively proliferated at a high survival rate. These results suggested that the composite hydrogel provides microenvironments suitable for the survival and proliferation of neural progenitor cells.

Design of culture substrates for large-scale expansion of neural stem cells.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have been frequently used to investigate in vitro the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the development of the central nervous system (CNS). In addition, NSCs are regarded as one of the potential sources for the cell replacement therapy of CNS disorders. Most of these studies have utilized NSCs prepared by neurosphere culture. However, this method normally yields a heterogeneous population containing differentiated neural cells as well as NSCs. In addition, the rate of cell expansion is not high enough for obtaining a large quantity of NSCs in a short period. Here we report the design of culture substrates that allow highly selective and rapid expansion of NSCs. We synthesize epidermal growth factor fused with a hexahistidine sequence (EGF-His) and a polystyrene-binding peptide (EGF-PSt), and these engineered growth factors were surface-anchored to a nickel-chelated glass plate and a polystyrene dish, respectively. The EGF-His-chelated glass substrate was further used to assemble a culture module. Neurosphere-forming cells prepared from the fetal rat striatum were used to examine the selective expansion of NSCs using the EGF-His-chelated module and the EGF-PSt-bound polystyrene dish. Our results show that the culture module enables to selectively expand NSCs in a closed system more efficiently than the standard neurosphere culture. The EGF-PSt-bound polystyrene dish also permits efficient expansion of NSCs, providing a straightforward means to acquire a large quantity of pure NSCs in standard laboratories.

Array-based functional screening of growth factors toward optimizing neural stem cell microenvironments

To gain insights into the effect of various growth factors on the behaviors of neural stem cells, cell culture assays were performed on the array that displayed five different growth factors including basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and ciliary neurotrophic factor. These factors were expressed in Escherichia coli as fusion proteins with a hexahistidine sequence and arrayed on a nickel ion-functionalized chip as single factors or the combination of two factors. Neural stem cells obtained from the fetal rat brain were cultured on the array to investigate their proliferation and differentiation. It was shown that the five growth factors displayed as a single component had significant impacts on cell behaviors. These effects are overall in accordance with those reported previously. On the other hand, in the case that two different growth factors were co-displayed on a single spot, the behaviors of neural stem cells could not be simply predicted from their individual effects. We performed a multivariate cluster analysis for the quantitative data on cell proliferation and differentiation. It was shown that the effect of two growth factors co-displayed was competitive, synergistic, or destructive depending on the combinations. In other peculiar cases, the effect of growth factors was totally different from those of individual factors.

Essential role of structural integrity and firm attachment of surface-anchored epidermal growth factor in adherent culture of neural stem cells.

Surface immobilization of proteins provides various biomaterials that permit the control of cellular functions through protein-protein interactions. Our previous study demonstrated that human epidermal growth factor carrying a hexahistidine sequence at the C-terminus (hEGF-His) could be anchored to the Ni-chelated surface by coordination, providing the versatile substrate for the selective proliferation of neural stem cells. The present study was undertaken to gain deeper insights into the basis for such an outstanding property of the surface with coordinated hEGF-His. For this purpose, the structure of the coordinated hEGF-His was analyzed by multiple internal reflection-infrared absorption spectroscopy. In addition, stability of coordinate bonds was assessed under cell culture conditions using a spatially-restricted anchoring technique. These data were compared to the results obtained from surfaces with covalently immobilized and physically adsorbed hEGF-His. The results presented here demonstrate that coordinated hEGF-His remains its intact conformation and is firmly anchored to the surface during cell culture. These attributes are both crucial for establishing the adherent culture and hence selective expansion of neural stem cells.