Bioactive collagen peptide functionalized polyglucuronic acid - In vitro analysis as a potential biomaterial for bone tissue engineering

A Tejaswini; S Navya; K G Poornima; Emmanuel Petit; Redouan Elboutachfaiti; Alka Mehta; C Shanthi; Cédric Delattre

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.145735

Bioactive collagen peptide functionalized polyglucuronic acid - In vitro analysis as a potential biomaterial for bone tissue engineering

Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Jul 2;319(Pt 4):145735. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.145735. Online ahead of print.

Authors

A Tejaswini¹, S Navya², K G Poornima¹, Emmanuel Petit³, Redouan Elboutachfaiti³, Alka Mehta¹, C Shanthi⁴, Cédric Delattre⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biotechnology, School of BioSciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India.
² Department of Biotechnology, School of BioSciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India; Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
³ UMRT INRAE 1158 BioEcoAgro, BIOlogie des Plantes et Innovation (BIOPI), UMRt BioEcoAgro 1158-INRAE, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, IUT GB, Avenue des Facultés, Le Bailly, 80025 Amiens, France.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, School of BioSciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India. Electronic address: cshanthi@vit.ac.in.
⁵ Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, Institut Pascal, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 Rue Descartes, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address: cedric.delattre@uca.fr.

PMID: 40614994
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.145735

Abstract

The present study investigated the use of polyglucuronic acid (PGU) functionalized with a bioactive peptide (GKNGDDGEA) as a potential biomaterial for bone tissue engineering. Different concentrations of bioactive peptide-functionalized PGU (PGU-PH-PP1) ranging from P1 (0.178 ng/cm²) to P6 (1.07 ng/cm²) were coated on a polystyrene surface and evaluated for their ability to promote cell adhesion, proliferation, and gene expression of osteogenic markers in the MG63 cell line. The optimum concentration of PGU-PH-PP1 was found to be 0.714 ng/cm² at which, ~20 % enhancement in cell viability was achieved compared to PGU. Functionalized PGU coatings are more likely to undergo osseointegration, as the increased wettability of a biomaterial displays more affinity for protein adsorption and cell adhesion. Furthermore, gene expression analysis showed that PGU-PH-PP1 at a concentration of P4 (0.714 ng/cm²) stimulated the production of osteogenic markers that play a crucial role in controlling the development of the bone extracellular matrix. These markers include osteopontin, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, and runt-related transcription factor 2. PGU-PH-PP1 is a promising bioactive biomaterial with enhanced cell adhesion and osteoinductive properties. This preliminary study lays good foundation for the future development of 3D scaffolds and bioink formulations for regenerative applications.

Keywords: Collagen; Peptide; Polyglucuronic acid.