Abstract:
Developing in vitro models that accurately mimic the microenvironment of biological structures or processes holds substantial promise for gaining insights into specific biological functions. In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, in vitro models able to capture the precise structural, topographical, and functional complexity of living tissues, prove to be valuable tools for comprehending disease mechanisms, assessing drug responses, and serving as alternatives or complements to animal testing. The choice of the right biomaterial and fabrication technique for the development of these in vitro models plays an important role in their functionality. In this sense, elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs) have emerged as an important tool for the fabrication of in vitro models overcoming the challenges encountered in natural and synthetic materials due to their intrinsic properties, such as phase transition behavior, tunable biological properties, viscoelasticity, and easy processability. In this review article, we will delve into the use of ELRs for molecular models of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), as well as for the development of in vitro 3D models for regenerative medicine. The easy processability of the ELRs and their rational design has allowed their use for the development of spheroids and organoids, or bioinks for 3D bioprinting. Thus, incorporating ELRs into the toolkit of biomaterials used for the fabrication of in vitro models, represents a transformative step forward in improving the accuracy, efficiency, and functionality of these models, and opening up a wide range of possibilities in combination with advanced biofabrication techniques that remains to be explored.
摘要:
开发准确模拟生物结构或过程的微环境的体外模型对于获得对特定生物学功能的见解具有实质性的希望。在组织工程和再生医学领域,能够捕获精确结构的体外模型,地形,和活组织的功能复杂性,被证明是理解疾病机制的有价值的工具,评估药物反应,作为动物试验的替代或补充。选择正确的生物材料和制造技术来开发这些体外模型在其功能中起着重要作用。在这个意义上,弹性蛋白样重组聚体(ELR)已成为制造体外模型的重要工具,克服了天然和合成材料中由于其固有特性而遇到的挑战,如相变行为,可调的生物特性,粘弹性,和易于加工。在这篇评论文章中,我们将深入研究ELR在内在无序蛋白质(IDP)分子模型中的应用,以及用于再生医学的体外3D模型的开发。ELRs的易加工性及其合理的设计使其可以用于球体和类器官的开发,或用于3D生物打印的生物墨水。因此,将ELR纳入用于体外模型制造的生物材料工具包中,代表了提高准确性的变革性一步,效率,以及这些模型的功能,并结合尚待探索的先进生物制造技术,开辟了广泛的可能性。