Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells
The quest for surfaces able to interface cells and modulate their functionality has raised, in recent years, the development of biomaterials endowed with nanocues capable of mimicking the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), especially for tissue regeneration purposes. In this context, carbon nanotub...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/10/2724 |
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| author | Luisa Severino Ulloa Fabio Perissinotto Ilaria Rago Andrea Goldoni Rosaria Santoro Maurizio Pesce Loredana Casalis Denis Scaini |
| author_facet | Luisa Severino Ulloa Fabio Perissinotto Ilaria Rago Andrea Goldoni Rosaria Santoro Maurizio Pesce Loredana Casalis Denis Scaini |
| author_sort | Luisa Severino Ulloa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The quest for surfaces able to interface cells and modulate their functionality has raised, in recent years, the development of biomaterials endowed with nanocues capable of mimicking the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), especially for tissue regeneration purposes. In this context, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are optimal candidates, showing dimensions and a morphology comparable to fibril ECM constituents. Moreover, when immobilized onto surfaces, they demonstrated outstanding cytocompatibility and ease of chemical modification with ad hoc functionalities. In this study, we interface porcine aortic valve interstitial cells (pVICs) to multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) carpets, investigating the impact of surface nano-morphology on cell properties. The results obtained indicate that CNTs significantly affect cell behavior in terms of cell morphology, cytoskeleton organization, and mechanical properties. We discovered that CNT carpets appear to maintain interfaced pVICs in a sort of “quiescent state”, hampering cell activation into a myofibroblasts-like phenotype morphology, a cellular evolution prodromal to Calcific Aortic Valve Disease (CAVD) and characterized by valve interstitial tissue stiffening. We found that this phenomenon is linked to CNTs’ ability to alter cell tensional homeostasis, interacting with cell plasma membranes, stabilizing focal adhesions and enabling a better strain distribution within cells. Our discovery contributes to shedding new light on the ECM contribution in modulating cell behavior and will open the door to new criteria for designing nanostructured scaffolds to drive cell functionality for tissue engineering applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:19:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4e141eec7ecb4001b82f798bd11ab101 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:19:05Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj.art-4e141eec7ecb4001b82f798bd11ab1012023-11-22T19:25:41ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912021-10-011110272410.3390/nano11102724Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial CellsLuisa Severino Ulloa0Fabio Perissinotto1Ilaria Rago2Andrea Goldoni3Rosaria Santoro4Maurizio Pesce5Loredana Casalis6Denis Scaini7Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, ItalyDipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, 34127 Trieste, ItalyElettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Basovizza, 34149 Trieste, ItalyUnità di Ingegneria Tissutale Cardiovascolare, Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, 20138 Milan, ItalyUnità di Ingegneria Tissutale Cardiovascolare, Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, 20138 Milan, ItalyElettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Basovizza, 34149 Trieste, ItalyArea di Neuroscienze, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, ItalyThe quest for surfaces able to interface cells and modulate their functionality has raised, in recent years, the development of biomaterials endowed with nanocues capable of mimicking the natural extracellular matrix (ECM), especially for tissue regeneration purposes. In this context, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are optimal candidates, showing dimensions and a morphology comparable to fibril ECM constituents. Moreover, when immobilized onto surfaces, they demonstrated outstanding cytocompatibility and ease of chemical modification with ad hoc functionalities. In this study, we interface porcine aortic valve interstitial cells (pVICs) to multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) carpets, investigating the impact of surface nano-morphology on cell properties. The results obtained indicate that CNTs significantly affect cell behavior in terms of cell morphology, cytoskeleton organization, and mechanical properties. We discovered that CNT carpets appear to maintain interfaced pVICs in a sort of “quiescent state”, hampering cell activation into a myofibroblasts-like phenotype morphology, a cellular evolution prodromal to Calcific Aortic Valve Disease (CAVD) and characterized by valve interstitial tissue stiffening. We found that this phenomenon is linked to CNTs’ ability to alter cell tensional homeostasis, interacting with cell plasma membranes, stabilizing focal adhesions and enabling a better strain distribution within cells. Our discovery contributes to shedding new light on the ECM contribution in modulating cell behavior and will open the door to new criteria for designing nanostructured scaffolds to drive cell functionality for tissue engineering applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/10/2724carbon nanotubeschemical vapor depositionnanomorphologyvalve interstitial cellscell membrane |
| spellingShingle | Luisa Severino Ulloa Fabio Perissinotto Ilaria Rago Andrea Goldoni Rosaria Santoro Maurizio Pesce Loredana Casalis Denis Scaini Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells Nanomaterials carbon nanotubes chemical vapor deposition nanomorphology valve interstitial cells cell membrane |
| title | Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells |
| title_full | Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells |
| title_fullStr | Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells |
| title_short | Carbon Nanotubes Substrates Alleviate Pro-Calcific Evolution in Porcine Valve Interstitial Cells |
| title_sort | carbon nanotubes substrates alleviate pro calcific evolution in porcine valve interstitial cells |
| topic | carbon nanotubes chemical vapor deposition nanomorphology valve interstitial cells cell membrane |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/11/10/2724 |
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