Cell-biomaterial interactions: role of transglutaminase enzyme

✍ Scribed by G. Peluso; O. Petillo; L. Mazzarella; F. Cara; A. Sada; M. A. B. Melone; P. J. A. Davies; V. Gentile

• Book ID: 104629695
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 552 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0957-4530
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00121405

✦ Synopsis

Cell interaction(s) with biomaterial undergo a multistep-step paradigm of adhesion, contact, attachment, and spreading. However, the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the cell anchorage on a material surface is not yet well understood. Transglutaminases, a family of calcium-dependent enzymes, has been implicated in the interactions between cells and extracellular matrix. To investigate the functions of this enzyme in cell-material interactions, Balb-C 3T3 fibroblasts were cultured, stably expressing high levels of tissue transglutaminase (TGase), on dishes precoated with thin layers of the hydrophilic hydrogel poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (polyHEMA). Results suggest that in the presence of a relatively high poly (HEMA) dilution, the transfected cells showed a more complex morphologic pattern, characterized by many spread and flattened cells, in comparison with a control culture. These studies support the hypothesis that the overexpression of tissue transglutaminase may contribute both to changes in cellular morphology and adhesiveness.