bims-drudre Biomed News
on Targeted drug delivery and programmed release mechanisms
Issue of 2021‒11‒28
eighteen papers selected by
Ceren Kimna
Technical University of Munich
  1. Biomaterial-induced conversion of quiescent cardiomyocytes into pacemaker cells in rats.
  2. DNA nanostructures directed by RNA clamps.
  3. Self-activating anti-infection implant.
  4. A Redox-Activatable DNA Nanodevice for Spatially-Selective, AND-Gated Imaging of ATP and Glutathione in Mitochondria.
  5. Polarity control of DNA adsorption enabling the surface functionalization of CuO nanozymes for targeted tumor therapy.
  6. Programmable microbial ink for 3D printing of living materials produced from genetically engineered protein nanofibers.
  7. Macrophage Polarization Modulated by NF-κB in Polylactide Membranes-Treated Peritendinous Adhesion.
  8. Implantable system for chronotherapy.
  9. Self-healing Hydrogel Embodied with Macrophage-regulation and Responsive-gene-silencing Properties for Synergistic Prevention of Peritendinous Adhesion.
  10. A spatiotemporal release platform based on pH/ROS stimuli-responsive hydrogel in wound repairing.
  11. Lipid nanoparticle chemistry determines how nucleoside base modifications alter mRNA delivery.
  12. Controlled delivery of gold nanoparticle-coupled miRNA therapeutics via an injectable self-healing hydrogel.
  13. A novel mechanism for the loss of mRNA activity in lipid nanoparticle delivery systems.
  14. Reversible and spatiotemporal control of colloidal structure formation.
  15. Directed Regeneration of Osteochondral Tissue by Hierarchical Assembly of Spatially Organized Composite Spheroids.
  16. DNA-Controlled Spatiotemporal Patterning of a Cytoskeletal Active Gel.
  17. Preferential siRNA delivery to injured kidneys for combination treatment of acute kidney injury.
  18. Solvent-Assisted 4D Programming and Reprogramming of Liquid Crystalline Organo-gels.
  1. Nat Biomed Eng. 2021 Nov 22.
    Biomaterial-induced conversion of quiescent cardiomyocytes into pacemaker cells in rats.
    Yu-Feng Hu, An-Sheng Lee, Shih-Lin Chang, Shien-Fong Lin, Ching-Hui Weng, Hsin-Yu Lo, Pei-Chun Chou, Yung-Nan Tsai, Yen-Ling Sung, Chien-Chang Chen, Ruey-Bing Yang, Yuh-Charn Lin, Terry B J Kuo, Cheng-Han Wu, Jin-Dian Liu, Tze-Wen Chung, Shih-Ann Chen.
      Pacemaker cells can be differentiated from stem cells or transdifferentiated from quiescent mature cardiac cells via genetic manipulation. Here we show that the exposure of rat quiescent ventricular cardiomyocytes to a silk-fibroin hydrogel activates the direct conversion of the quiescent cardiomyocytes to pacemaker cardiomyocytes by inducing the ectopic expression of the vascular endothelial cell-adhesion glycoprotein cadherin. The silk-fibroin-induced pacemaker cells exhibited functional and morphological features of genuine sinoatrial-node cardiomyocytes in vitro, and pacemaker cells generated via the injection of silk fibroin in the left ventricles of rats functioned as a surrogate in situ sinoatrial node. Biomaterials with suitable surface structure, mechanics and biochemistry could facilitate the scalable production of biological pacemakers for human use.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-021-00812-y
  2. Nanoscale. 2021 Nov 26.
    DNA nanostructures directed by RNA clamps.
    Jiazhen Lyu, Mei Yang, Chong Zhang, Yongbo Luo, Tong Qin, Zhaoming Su, Zhen Huang.
      DNA chains can be folded rationally by using DNA staples, and the programmed structures are of great potential in nanomaterial studies. However, due to the short DNA staples forming duplexes and displaying limitations in structural diversity and stability, the folded DNA nanostructures are usually generated with structural mis-formations, low yields and poor efficiencies, which can restrict their folding patterns and applications. To overcome these problems, we set out to use RNA as a clamp to form polygons, and herein demonstrated the ability to use a structural RNA-but not its corresponding DNA-to fold DNA chains into nanostructures with high efficiency (up to a 95.1% yield). Furthermore, we discovered that the 2'-methylated version of the RNA can, compared to the unmodified RNA, even more efficiently fold DNA chains (up to a 98.5% yield). Interestingly, the RNA clamp can fold DNA scaffolds with one, two or four folding units into the same square shape. Furthermore, the RNA can direct the DNA chains with three, four and five folding units into triangular, square and pentagonal nano-shapes, respectively. In addition, we confirmed their enlarged nano-shapes by performing electron microscopy (EM) imaging. These formed nanostructures revealed the potential cooperation between the DNA scaffold and RNA clamp. Moreover, our research demonstrated a novel strategy, involving using RNA clamps displaying structural diversity and duplex stability, for folding DNA into diverse nanostructures.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1039/d1nr03919a
  3. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 25. 12(1): 6907
    Self-activating anti-infection implant.
    Jieni Fu, Weidong Zhu, Xiangmei Liu, Chunyong Liang, Yufeng Zheng, Zhaoyang Li, Yanqin Liang, Dong Zheng, Shengli Zhu, Zhenduo Cui, Shuilin Wu.
      Clinically, it is difficult to endow implants with excellent osteogenic ability and antibacterial activity simultaneously. Herein, the self-activating implants modified with hydroxyapatite (HA)/MoS2 coating are designed to prevent Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) infections and accelerate bone regeneration simultaneously. The electron transfer between bacteria and HA/MoS2 is triggered when bacteria contacted with the material. RNA sequencing data reveals that the expression level of anaerobic respiration-related genes is up-regulated and the expression level of aerobic respiration-related genes is down-regulated when bacteria adhere to the implants. HA/MoS2 presents a highly effective antibacterial efficacy against both S. aureus and E. coli because of bacterial respiration-activated metabolic pathway changes. Meanwhile, this coating promotes the osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells by altering the potentials of cell membrane and mitochondrial membrane. The proposed strategy exhibits great potential to endow implants with self-activating anti-infection performance and osteogenic ability simultaneously.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27217-4
  4. Nano Lett. 2021 Nov 22.
    A Redox-Activatable DNA Nanodevice for Spatially-Selective, AND-Gated Imaging of ATP and Glutathione in Mitochondria.
    Xin Chai, Zetan Fan, Ming-Ming Yu, Jian Zhao, Lele Li.
      Design of biosensors capable of imaging ATP and glutathione (GSH) in mitochondria remains a challenge, despite their importance in elucidating their correlated pathophysiological events. Here, we report a new strategy that uses redox-activatable aptamer sensor design combined with nanoparticle-based targeting capability to achieve spatially controlled, AND-gated imaging of ATP and GSH in mitochondria. The DNA nanodevice was designed by the controlled assembly of the redox-responsive ATP aptamer probe on the nanoparticles and further decorated with mitochondria-targeting signals. We demonstrate that the system allows for mitochondria-specific, correlated imaging of ATP and GSH in living cells and in vivo. Furthermore, because the system can be lighted up only when meeting the "dual keys" (overexpressed ATP and GSH in mitochondria) simultaneously, the DNA nanodevice enables specific imaging of tumors in vivo with improved tumor-to-normal tissue ratio. This work illustrates the potential of the DNA nanodevices in the imaging of mitochondrial multivariate targets.
    Keywords:  ATP; DNA nanodevices; GSH; mitochondria; molecular imaging
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c03732
  5. Mater Horiz. 2021 Mar 01. 8(3): 972-986
    Polarity control of DNA adsorption enabling the surface functionalization of CuO nanozymes for targeted tumor therapy.
    Yingcai Meng, Yuan Chen, Jiaojiao Zhu, Yan Qi, Jinsong Ding, Wenhu Zhou.
      Nanomaterials with intrinsic catalytic activities (nanozyme) have drawn broad attention for various biomedical applications, with peroxidase-mimic nanozymes particularly attractive for cancer therapy due to their capability to catalyze the conversion of tumor-abundant H2O2 into more toxic hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) for effective tumor ablation. However, the facile surface modification of nanozymes for tumor-targeted delivery while retaining their catalytic activity remains a challenge. Here, we report an approach to functionalize the CuO nanozyme with DNA to enable targeted delivery and selective tumor destruction. We systematically studied the adsorption of DNA on the CuO surface, with special attention paid to the catalytic activity and DNA adsorption stability in the presence of various biological ligands. After gaining a fundamental understanding, a di-block DNA sequence was designed for adsorption on to the CuO surface, which allowed stable adsorption during in vivo circulation, passive accumulation into the tumor tissue, and the specific recognition of tumor cells, resulting in significant nanocatalytic tumor suppression in tumor xenograft mice models with no noticeable cytotoxicity. This work paves a way for the rational design of DNA-modified nanozymes for catalytic tumor therapy, and fundamentally, provides a new insight into the biointerface chemistry of CuO with DNA.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1039/d0mh01372b
  6. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 23. 12(1): 6600
    Programmable microbial ink for 3D printing of living materials produced from genetically engineered protein nanofibers.
    Anna M Duraj-Thatte, Avinash Manjula-Basavanna, Jarod Rutledge, Jing Xia, Shabir Hassan, Arjirios Sourlis, Andrés G Rubio, Ami Lesha, Michael Zenkl, Anton Kan, David A Weitz, Yu Shrike Zhang, Neel S Joshi.
      Living cells have the capability to synthesize molecular components and precisely assemble them from the nanoscale to build macroscopic living functional architectures under ambient conditions. The emerging field of living materials has leveraged microbial engineering to produce materials for various applications but building 3D structures in arbitrary patterns and shapes has been a major challenge. Here we set out to develop a bioink, termed as "microbial ink" that is produced entirely from genetically engineered microbial cells, programmed to perform a bottom-up, hierarchical self-assembly of protein monomers into nanofibers, and further into nanofiber networks that comprise extrudable hydrogels. We further demonstrate the 3D printing of functional living materials by embedding programmed Escherichia coli (E. coli) cells and nanofibers into microbial ink, which can sequester toxic moieties, release biologics, and regulate its own cell growth through the chemical induction of rationally designed genetic circuits. In this work, we present the advanced capabilities of nanobiotechnology and living materials technology to 3D-print functional living architectures.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26791-x
  7. Small. 2021 Nov 23. e2104112
    Macrophage Polarization Modulated by NF-κB in Polylactide Membranes-Treated Peritendinous Adhesion.
    Shuo Wang, Mingkuan Lu, Wei Wang, Shiyang Yu, Ruyue Yu, Chuandong Cai, Yuange Li, Zhongmin Shi, Jian Zou, Miao He, Wenqing Xie, Dengjie Yu, Hongfu Jin, Hengzhen Li, Wenfeng Xiao, Cunyi Fan, Fei Wu, Yusheng Li, Shen Liu.
      Foreign body reactions (FBR) to implants seriously impair tissue-implant integration and postoperative adhesion. The macrophage, owing to its phenotypic plasticity, is a major regulator in the formation of the inflammatory microenvironment; NF-κB signaling also plays a vital role in the process. It is hypothesized that NF-κB phosphorylation exerts a proinflammatory regulator in FBR to polylactide membranes (PLA-M) and adhesion. First, in vitro and in vivo experiments show that PLA-M induces NF-κB phosphorylation in macrophages, leading to M1 polarization and release of inflammatory factors. The inflammatory microenvironment formed due to PLA-M accelerates myofibroblast differentiation and release of collagen III and MMP2, jointly resulting in peritendinous adhesion. Therefore, JSH-23 (a selective NF-κB inhibitor)-loaded PLA membrane (JSH-23/PLA-M) is fabricated by blend electrospinning to regulate the associated M1 polarization for peritendinous anti-adhesion. JSH-23/PLA-M specifically inhibits NF-κB phosphorylation in macrophages and exhibits anti-inflammatory and anti-adhesion properties. The findings demonstrate that NF-κB phosphorylation has a critical role in PLA-induced M1 polarization and aggravating FBR to PLA-M. Additionally, JSH-23/PLA-M precisely targets modulation of NF-κB phosphorylation in FBR to break the vicious cycle in peritendinous adhesion therapy.
    Keywords:  NF-κB pathway; anti-adhesion membranes; foreign body reactions; macrophage polarization; peritendinous adhesion
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202104112
  8. Sci Adv. 2021 Nov 26. 7(48): eabj4624
    Implantable system for chronotherapy.
    Seung Ho Lee, Qianqian Wan, Adam Wentworth, Ian Ballinger, Keiko Ishida, Joy E Collins, Siddartha Tamang, Hen-Wei Huang, Canchen Li, Kaitlyn Hess, Aaron Lopes, Ameya R Kirtane, Jung Seung Lee, SeJun Lee, Wei Chen, Kaitlyn Wong, George Selsing, Hyunjoon Kim, Stephen T Buckley, Alison Hayward, Robert Langer, Giovanni Traverso.
      [Figure: see text].
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abj4624
  9. Adv Mater. 2021 Nov 23. e2106564
    Self-healing Hydrogel Embodied with Macrophage-regulation and Responsive-gene-silencing Properties for Synergistic Prevention of Peritendinous Adhesion.
    Chuandong Cai, Xinshu Zhang, Yuange Li, Xuanzhe Liu, Shuo Wang, Mingkuan Lu, Xiong Yan, Lianfu Deng, Shen Liu, Fei Wang, Cunyi Fan.
      Anti-adhesion barriers such as films and hydrogels used to wrap repaired tendons are important for preventing the formation of adhesion tissue after tendon surgery. However, sliding of the tendon can compress the adjacent hydrogel barrier and cause it to rupture, which may then lead to unexpected inflammation. Here, a self-healing and deformable hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel was constructed as a peritendinous anti-adhesion barrier. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)-degradable gelatin-methacryloyl (GelMA) microspheres (MSs) encapsulated with Smad3-siRNA nanoparticles were entrapped within the HA hydrogel to inhibit fibroblast proliferation and prevent peritendinous adhesion. Silencing effect of Smad3-siRNA nanoparticles was around 75% towards targeted gene. The mean adhesion scores of composite barrier group were 1.67±0.51 and 2.17±0.75 by macroscopic and histological evaluation, respectively. Furthermore, GelMA MSs were responsively degraded by upregulation of MMP-2, achieving on-demand release of siRNA nanoparticles to inhibit the formation of adhesion tissue. The proposed self-healing hydrogel anti-adhesion barrier with MMP-2-responsive drug release behavior is highly effective for decreasing inflammation and inhibiting tendon adhesion. Therefore, this research provides a new strategy for the development of safe and effective anti-adhesion barriers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
    Keywords:  hydrogel; macrophage; responsive; self-healing; tendon
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202106564
  10. J Control Release. 2021 Nov 20. pii: S0168-3659(21)00622-2. [Epub ahead of print]
    A spatiotemporal release platform based on pH/ROS stimuli-responsive hydrogel in wound repairing.
    Ye Wu, Yu Wang, Linyu Long, Cheng Hu, Qingquan Kong, Yunbing Wang.
      Fabricating injectable hydrogel with multifunctions that matchs the highly ordered healing process of skin regeneration has greatly desired in treatment of chronic diabetic wounds. Herein, a pH/reactive oxygen species (ROS) dual responsive injectable glycopeptide hydrogel based on phenylboronic acid-grafted oxidized dextran and caffeic acid-grafted ε-polylysine was constructed, which exhibited inherent antibacterial and antioxidant capacities. The mangiferin (MF) with the ability to promote angiogenesis was encapsulated into pH-responsive micelles (MIC). Subsequently, diclofenac sodium (DS) with anti-inflammatory activities and MIC@MF were embedded into the hydrogel. The hydrogel possessed good biodegradability, stable rheological property and self-healing ability, and could realize the spatiotemporal delivery of DS and MF. The in vitro and in vivo data showed that the hydrogel was biocompatible with effective anti-infection, anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation at early stages, then further promoted angiogenesis and accelerated wound repairing. Collectively, this novel glycopeptide hydrogel provides a facile and effective strategy for chronic diabetic wound repairing.
    Keywords:  Diabetic wound repairing; Drug-loaded micelles; Dual-dynamic-bond; Dual-responsive hydrogel; Spatiotemporal delivery
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.11.027
  11. J Control Release. 2021 Nov 18. pii: S0168-3659(21)00617-9. [Epub ahead of print]
    Lipid nanoparticle chemistry determines how nucleoside base modifications alter mRNA delivery.
    Jilian R Melamed, Khalid A Hajj, Namit Chaudhary, Daria Strelkova, Mariah L Arral, Norbert Pardi, Mohamad-Gabriel Alameh, Jason B Miller, Lukas Farbiak, Daniel J Siegwart, Drew Weissman, Kathryn A Whitehead.
      Therapeutic mRNA has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of myriad diseases and, in 2020, facilitated the most rapid vaccine development in history. Among the substantial advances in mRNA technology made in recent years, the incorporation of base modifications into therapeutic mRNA sequences can reduce immunogenicity and increase translation. However, experiments from our lab and others have shown that the incorporation of base modifications does not always yield superior protein expression. We hypothesized that the variable benefit of base modifications may relate to lipid nanoparticle chemistry, formulation, and accumulation within specific organs. To test this theory, we compared IV-injected lipid nanoparticles formulated with reporter mRNA incorporating five base modifications (ψ, m1ψ, m5U, m5C/ψ, and m5C/s2U) and four ionizable lipids (C12-200, cKK-E12, ZA3-Ep10, and 200Oi10) with tropism for different organs. In general, the m1ψ base modification best enhanced translation, producing up to 15-fold improvements in total protein expression compared to unmodified mRNA. Expression improved most dramatically in the spleen (up to 50-fold) and was attributed to enhanced protein expression in monocytic lineage splenocytes. The extent to which these effects were observed varied with delivery vehicle and correlated with differences in innate immunogenicity. Through comparison of firefly luciferase and erythropoietin mRNA constructs, we also found that mRNA modification-induced enhancements in protein expression are limited outside of the spleen, irrespective of delivery vehicle. These results highlight the complexity of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticle drug design and show that the effectiveness of mRNA base modifications depend on the delivery vehicle, the target cells, and the site of endogenous protein expression.
    Keywords:  Lipid nanoparticles; Lipidoid; Non-viral gene delivery; Pseudouridine; mRNA
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.11.022
  12. Nanoscale. 2021 Nov 24.
    Controlled delivery of gold nanoparticle-coupled miRNA therapeutics via an injectable self-healing hydrogel.
    Casper F T van der Ven, Mark W Tibbitt, João Conde, Alain van Mil, Jesper Hjortnaes, Pieter A Doevendans, Joost P G Sluijter, Elena Aikawa, Robert S Langer.
      Differential expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) plays a role in many diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Potentially, miRNAs could be targeted with miRNA-therapeutics. Sustained delivery of these therapeutics remains challenging. This study couples miR-mimics to PEG-peptide gold nanoparticles (AuNP) and loads these AuNP-miRNAs in an injectable, shear thinning, self-assembling polymer nanoparticle (PNP) hydrogel drug delivery platform to improve delivery. Spherical AuNPs coated with fluorescently labelled miR-214 are loaded into an HPMC-PEG-b-PLA PNP hydrogel. Release of AuNP/miRNAs is quantified, AuNP-miR-214 functionality is shown in vitro in HEK293 cells, and AuNP-miRNAs are tracked in a 3D bioprinted human model of calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). Lastly, biodistribution of PNP-AuNP-miR-67 is assessed after subcutaneous injection in C57BL/6 mice. AuNP-miRNA release from the PNP hydrogel in vitro demonstrates a linear pattern over 5 days up to 20%. AuNP-miR-214 transfection in HEK293 results in 33% decrease of Luciferase reporter activity. In the CAVD model, AuNP-miR-214 are tracked into the cytoplasm of human aortic valve interstitial cells. Lastly, 11 days after subcutaneous injection, AuNP-miR-67 predominantly clears via the liver and kidneys, and fluorescence levels are again comparable to control animals. Thus, the PNP-AuNP-miRNA drug delivery platform provides linear release of functional miRNAs in vitro and has potential for in vivo applications.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1039/d1nr04973a
  13. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 22. 12(1): 6777
    A novel mechanism for the loss of mRNA activity in lipid nanoparticle delivery systems.
    Meredith Packer, Dipendra Gyawali, Ravikiran Yerabolu, Joseph Schariter, Phil White.
      Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-formulated mRNA vaccines were rapidly developed and deployed in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Due to the labile nature of mRNA, identifying impurities that could affect product stability and efficacy is crucial to the long-term use of nucleic-acid based medicines. Herein, reversed-phase ion pair high performance liquid chromatography (RP-IP HPLC) was used to identify a class of impurity formed through lipid:mRNA reactions; such reactions are typically undetectable by traditional mRNA purity analytical techniques. The identified modifications render the mRNA untranslatable, leading to loss of protein expression. Specifically, electrophilic impurities derived from the ionizable cationic lipid component are shown to be responsible. Mechanisms implicated in the formation of reactive species include oxidation and subsequent hydrolysis of the tertiary amine. It thus remains critical to ensure robust analytical methods and stringent manufacturing control to ensure mRNA stability and high activity in LNP delivery systems.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26926-0
  14. Nat Commun. 2021 Nov 23. 12(1): 6811
    Reversible and spatiotemporal control of colloidal structure formation.
    H Dehne, A Reitenbach, A R Bausch.
      Tuning colloidal structure formation is a powerful approach to building functional materials, as a wide range of optical and viscoelastic properties can be accessed by the choice of individual building blocks and their interactions. Precise control is achieved by DNA specificity, depletion forces, or geometric constraints and results in a variety of complex structures. Due to the lack of control and reversibility of the interactions, an autonomous oscillating system on a mesoscale without external driving was not feasible until now. Here, we show that tunable DNA reaction circuits controlling linker strand concentrations can drive the dynamic and fully reversible assembly of DNA-functionalized micron-sized particles. The versatility of this approach is demonstrated by programming colloidal interactions in sequential and spatial order to obtain an oscillatory structure formation process on a mesoscopic scale. The experimental results represent an approach for the development of active materials by using DNA reaction networks to scale up the dynamic control of colloidal self-organization.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27016-x
  15. Adv Sci (Weinh). 2021 Nov 21. e2103525
    Directed Regeneration of Osteochondral Tissue by Hierarchical Assembly of Spatially Organized Composite Spheroids.
    Jinkyu Lee, Seoyun Lee, Seung Jae Huh, Byung-Jae Kang, Heungsoo Shin.
      The use of engineered scaffolds or stem cells is investigated widely in the repair of injured musculoskeletal tissue. However, the combined regeneration of hierarchical osteochondral tissue remains a challenge due to delamination between cartilage and subchondral bone or difficulty in spatial control over differentiation of transplanted stem cells. Here, two types of composite spheroids are prepared using adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) and nanofibers coated with either transforming growth factor-β3 or bone morphogenetic growth factor-2 for chondrogenesis or osteogenesis, respectively. Each type of spheroid is then cultured within a 3D-printed microchamber in a spatially arranged manner to recapitulate the bilayer structure of osteochondral tissue. The presence of inductive factors regionally modulates in vitro chondrogenic or osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs within the biphasic construct without dedifferentiation. Furthermore, hADSCs from each spheroid proliferate and sprout and successfully connect the two layers mimicking the osteochondral interface without apertures. In vivo transplantation of the biphasic construct onto a femoral trochlear groove defect in rabbit knee joint results in 21.2 ± 2.8% subchondral bone volume/total volume and a cartilage score of 25.0 ± 3.7. The present approach can be an effective therapeutic platform to engineer complex tissue.
    Keywords:  3D printing; composite spheroid; microchamber; osteochondral tissue regeneration; tissue engineering
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202103525
  16. J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Nov 22.
    DNA-Controlled Spatiotemporal Patterning of a Cytoskeletal Active Gel.
    Yuliia Vyborna, Jean-Christophe Galas, André Estevez-Torres.
      Living cells move and change their shape because signaling chemical reactions modify the state of their cytoskeleton, an active gel that converts chemical energy into mechanical forces. To create life-like materials, it is thus key to engineer chemical pathways that drive active gels. Here we describe the preparation of DNA-responsive surfaces that control the activity of a cytoskeletal active gel composed of microtubules: A DNA signal triggers the release of molecular motors from the surface into the gel bulk, generating forces that structure the gel. Depending on the DNA sequence and concentration, the gel forms a periodic band pattern or contracts globally. Finally, we show that the structuration of the active gel can be spatially controlled in the presence of a gradient of DNA concentration. We anticipate that such DNA-controlled active matter will contribute to the development of life-like materials with self-shaping properties.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.1c06730
  17. J Control Release. 2021 Nov 23. pii: S0168-3659(21)00624-6. [Epub ahead of print]
    Preferential siRNA delivery to injured kidneys for combination treatment of acute kidney injury.
    Weimin Tang, Yi Chen, Hee-Seong Jang, Yu Hang, Chinmay M Jogdeo, Jing Li, Ling Ding, Chuhan Zhang, Ao Yu, Fei Yu, Kirk W Foster, Babu J Padanilam, David Oupický.
      Acute kidney injury (AKI) is characterized by a sudden loss of renal function and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Tumor suppressor p53 and chemokine receptor CXCR4 were both implicated in the AKI pathology. Here, we report on the development and evaluation of polymeric CXCR4 antagonist (PCX) siRNA carrier for selective delivery to injured kidneys in AKI. Our results show that PCX/siRNA nanoparticles (polyplexes) provide protection against cisplatin injury to tubule cells in vitro when both CXCR4 and p53 are inhibited. The polyplexes selectively accumulate and are retained in the injured kidneys in cisplatin and bilateral ischemia reperfusion injury models of AKI. Treating AKI with the combined CXCR4 inhibition and p53 gene silencing with the PCX/sip53 polyplexes improves kidney function and decreases renal damage. Overall, our results suggest that the PCX/sip53 polyplexes have a significant potential to enhance renal accumulation in AKI and deliver therapeutic siRNA.
    Keywords:  Acute kidney injury; CXCR4; Polyplexes; p53; siRNA, nanoparticles
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.11.029
  18. Adv Mater. 2021 Nov 22. e2107855
    Solvent-Assisted 4D Programming and Reprogramming of Liquid Crystalline Organo-gels.
    Binjie Jin, Jiaqi Liu, Yunpeng Shi, Guancong Chen, Qian Zhao, Shu Yang.
      Encoding molecular ordering during liquid crystalline network (LCN) formation endows preprogrammed but fixed shape morphing in response to external stimuli. The incorporation of dynamic covalent bonds enables shape reprogramming but also permanently alters the network structures. Here, an entropic approach that can program complex shapes via directed solvent evaporation from an isotropic LCN organo-gel is discoursed. Different shapes can be erased and reprogrammed from the same LCN on demand depending on the modes of deformation of the organo-gel during solvent evaporation. The ability to decouple network synthesis and molecular alignment relaxes the requirements to LCN chemistry and alignment methods, allowing for the realization of a variety of origami/kirigami structures and 4D shape morphing of LCNs printed from the digital light processing technique with unattainable spatial and temporal controls. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
    Keywords:  alignment programming; directed solvent evaporation; liquid crystalline network; shape morphing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202107855
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