Biomaterials

Biomaterials are any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with biological systems. They play an integral role in medicine today—restoring function and facilitating healing for people after injury or disease. Biomaterials may be natural or synthetic and are used in medical applications to support, enhance, or replace damaged tissue or a biological function.

Synthetic hydrogels have been molecularly engineered to mimic the invasive characteristics of native provisional extracellular matrices: a combination of integrin-binding sites and substrates for matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) was required to render the networks degradable and invasive by cells via cell-secreted MMP. Advances in the field of tissue engineering are connected to the performance of biomaterials that help in guiding tissue formation or regeneration. Placed at the site of a defect, such materials should actively and temporarily participate in the regeneration process by providing a platform on which cell-triggered remodeling could occur. 

A cellularly-degradable (i.e. MMP-degradable) PEG hydrogel-based tissue engineered periosteum was investigated to coordinate the infiltration of critical regenerative host cells during bone allograft healing. These results indicate the MMP-TEP successfully improved allograft healing by promoting early-stage neurovascularization.

MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-8, MMP-9, and MMP-13

The use of recombinant MMPs in the incorporation of biomaterials offers several potential benefits. Firstly, it allows for a controlled and targeted degradation of the biomaterials, which can aid in tissue regeneration and remodeling. Recombinant MMPs can also be engineered to have specific substrate specificity, which can improve the specificity and efficiency of the degradation process. Additionally, the use of recombinant MMPs can potentially reduce the risk of immunogenicity and infection compared to using natural MMPs, as they can be produced in a controlled and sterile environment. Finally, recombinant MMPs can be produced in large quantities and at a lower cost than natural MMPs, which can facilitate their widespread use in research and clinical applications.

References
Yiming Li, Michael D. Hoffman, Danielle S.W. Benoit, Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-degradable tissue engineered periosteum coordinates allograft healing via early stage recruitment and support of host neurovasculature, Biomaterials, Volume 268, 2021, 120535.
Lutolf MP, Lauer-Fields JL, Schmoekel HG, Metters AT, Weber FE, Fields GB, Hubbell JA. Synthetic matrix metalloproteinase-sensitive hydrogels for the conduction of tissue regeneration: engineering cell-invasion characteristics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Apr 29;100(9):5413-8.