Journal of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences (Dec 2023)
Computational Study on the Binding of Tracheal Scaffold Extracellular Matrix Fibronectin to the Integrin of Adipose Tissue Stem Cells
Abstract
Background: Identifying protein interactions is one of the main challenges in the fields of biostructure and molecular biology. Despite extensive progress, the exact patterns of protein-protein interactions are still unknown. The main goal of this study is to computationally evaluate the interactions of fibronectin-1 in the extracellular matrix of decellularized trachea and integrins in adipose tissue stem cells in order to provide the most accurate possible visualization of these interactions and their role in biological processes. Methods: After decellularization of the sheep trachea through the detergent-enzyme method, histological evaluations and ultrastructure photography of the samples were done by scanning electron microscopy. Also, the simulations of fibronectin1 binding of extracellular matrix protein with integrin αvβ1 and α5β3 of stem cells derived from adipose tissue were investigated, and interaction energy analysis was applied to predict the structure of protein-protein complexes using the algorithms available in HDOCK and ClusPro servers. Results: The findings indicated the preservation of extracellular matrix components and scaffold ultrastructure. Also, in order to find the most favorable connection states in terms of energy, some of them were reported as stable interactions among the top types of connections. This insight provides a valuable understanding of cell-matrix adhesion, migration, and signaling, with potential implications for therapeutic development. Conclusion: The prepared scaffolds are ideal for engineering applications for which computational analysis and experimental data have been used for visualization of stable connection states with energy efficiency between fibronectin and integrin. Also, more studies on cell adhesion modeling in connection with tissue engineering science can provide a suitable field for the development of regenerative medicine in further studies.
