Filamentous phage is a biological nanofiber. It is made of proteins and DNA. There are about ~3000 copies of major coat encapsulating the DNA core. There are some minor coat proteins capping the tips of the filamentous phage. Because DNA inside the phage encodes both the minor coat proteins (at the tip) and major coat protein (on the side wall) of the phage, foreign peptides can be displayed site-specifically on the surface of the filamentous phage by genetic means. We displayed peptides derived from bone proteins including fibronectin and bone morphometric protein 2 on the surface of the filamentous phage. The phage nanofibers were induced to self-assemble into a nanostructured film where phage nanofibers were parallel to each other. We then studied the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) on the surface of such film. We found that the filamentous phage constituting the film could control the morphology of MSCs and iPSCs. More importantly, the unique architecture of the phage assemblies along with the peptides displayed on the constituent phage could promote the proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs and iPSCs. In addition, when some peptides derived from bone proteins were displayed on phage, the phage assemblies could induce the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells without any osteogenic supplements.

Genetically engineered self-assembled phage assemblies for directing osteogenic differentiation of stem cells

247th National Meeting (2014)

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