Addressing skin abrasions on artificial turfs with zwitterionic polymer brushes

Zwitterionic polymer brushes were investigated for their skin-friendliness outside of the common aqueous environment, exhibiting superior lubrication and antifouling properties.

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Homeostatic Functions of Tecrem, a CD46-Like Regulatory Protein of Complement Activation, on Epithelial Cells in Carp Fish

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering ◽

10.3390/jmse9070687 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 687

Author(s):

Harsha Prakash ◽

Shiori Motobe ◽

Takahiro Nagasawa ◽

Tomonori Somamoto ◽

Miki Nakao

Keyword(s):

Epithelial Cells ◽

Regulatory Protein ◽

Physiological Role ◽

Aqueous Environment ◽

Microbial Invasion ◽

Epithelial Cell Lines ◽

Expression Behavior ◽

The Common ◽

Ginbuna Crucian Carp ◽

Junction Proteins

Fish mucosal surface is a significant interface for pathogens to infect from an aqueous environment. In addition to mucosal innate and adaptive immune factors, epithelial cells are considered as a significant physical barrier against microbial invasion. Previously, we identified a mammalian CD46-like complement regulatory protein (Tecrem) in teleost and detected its expression on epithelial cells derived from fin, suggesting its physiological role on the fish surface. This study examines the homeostatic roles of Tecrem in maintaining the fish epithelium, by analyzing the expression behavior of Tecrem on the fin-derived epithelial cell lines (KF-1 from the common carp and CFS from ginbuna crucian carp) using monoclonal and polyclonal anti-Tecrem antibodies. Expression of KF-1 protein was associated with the adhesion of KF-1, and the adhesion was enhanced by anti-Tecrem treatments of the cells. Stimulation of the epithelial cells with anti-Tecrem enhanced wound healing, protein expression of tight-junction proteins, and cell density of the KF-1 and CFS monolayer culture. These results suggest that Tecrem on epithelial cells play a homeostatic role in maintaining intactness of the surface epithelial barrier, implying that modification of Tecrem expression may develop a novel tool to improve the first-line defense against pathogens in aquaculture.

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Self-restoring polymer brushes under tribological stress and the biomedical applications

MRS Advances ◽

10.1557/adv.2016.345 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (27) ◽

pp. 1971-1976

Author(s):

Troels Røn ◽

Irakli Javakhishvili ◽

Søren Hvilsted ◽

Katja Jankova ◽

Seunghwan Lee

Keyword(s):

Polymer Brushes ◽

Diblock Copolymers ◽

Polymer Chains ◽

Aqueous Environment ◽

Pdms Film ◽

Pdms Surface ◽

Tribological Application ◽

Optimal Functions ◽

Amphiphilic Diblock Copolymers

ABSTRACTFor biological and mechanical systems involving moving parts, surface slipperiness is often a critical attribute for their optimal functions. Surface grafting with hydrophilic polymers is a powerful means to render materials slippery in aqueous environment. In “inverted grafting-to approach”, the hydrophilic polymer chains of amphiphilic diblock copolymers dispersed within a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) network are selectively segregated upon exposure to aqueous solution. This allows formation of extremely stable brush-like polymer layers. Tribological application of inverted grafting-to approach was successfully demonstrated with PDMS-block-poly(acrylic acid) (PDMS-b-PAA) dispersed within thin PDMS films on PDMS blocks by showing friction coefficients (µ) of ca 10-2 to 10-3, depending on the load, pH and buffer salinity in the absence of other external re-supply of PAA chains. Further manipulations of the thin PDMS film incorporating PDMS-b-PAA to optimize the tribological properties are presented. Lastly, first trials to employ PAA-grafted PDMS surface to generate in-vitro mucosae model are also presented and discussed.

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