| POLYMERS Vol.73 No.3 |
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COVER STORY
Polymer Symbiosis |
| COVER STORY: Highlight Reviews |
| Life Phenomena Emerged by Extracellular Matrix as Soft Matter | Ayae SUGAWARA-NARUTAKI |
| <Abstract> It has become clear that the behavior of extracellular matrix as soft matter can generate a variety of life phenomena. In this article, I will introduce recent papers that attempt to elucidate the dynamic role of extracellular matrix in the wound healing process and outline an artificial extracellular matrix (designer matrix) that aims to understand and control life phenomena. Keywords: Extracellular Matrix / Hydrogel / Soft Matter / Wound Healing / Designer Matrix |
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| Mechanical and Structural Analysis of the Intestinal Mucus Layer | Ryu OKUMURA, Kiyoshi TAKEDA |
| <Abstract> In the intestinal tract, where a tremendous number of bacteria exist, mucus is essential for maintaining intestinal homeostasis by preventing the invasion of intestinal tissue by bacteria. The intestinal mucus is composed of highly glycosylated MUC2 mucin, which is abundantly secreted by goblet cells. O-glycans are indispensable for the barrier function of mucus; in particular, sialic acids added to MUC2 mucin by St6galnac6, a sialyltransferase, contribute to determining the mechanical properties of mucus and the network structure of mucin polymers. Here, we review the mucosal barrier system in the gut, focusing on the importance of glycans in mucus barrier function, and introduce two new methodologies for analyzing the mechanical properties of mucus and the structure of mucin polymers using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Keywords: Gut Mucosal Barrier / Mucus / Glycan / Disialyl Lewis A / Intestinal Inflammation / Mechanical Analysis / Atomic Force Microscpy / Scanning Electron Microscopy |
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| Apoptotic Cell Membrane-Inspired Polymers | Mitsuhiro EBARA |
| <Abstract> This article introduces the recent advances in immuno-modulating polymers. Especially, we focues on apoptotic cell membrane, phosphatidyl serine (PS) which has been known as immuno-tolerant moiety. We designed PS-inspired polymers (MPS) and evaluated their immuno tolerant effects. Keywords: Apoptosis / Immune Tolerance / Cell Membrane / MPS / Anti-Inflammation / Macrophage |
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| COVER STORY: Topics and Products |
| Structural Analysis and Molecular Recognition of Polysaccharide-Incorporated Materials | Shinichi MOCHIZUKI |
| <Abstract> Many polysaccharides have some features of not only bio-function and bioactivity, but also polymer materials such as hydrophilicity, water-solubility, hydrolyzability, and biodegradability. In this topic, we introduce the application of polysaccharides to drug delivery system (DDS) by using the specific interaction between the polysaccharide and the receptor. We prepared several conjugates consisting of hyaluronic acid (HA) as a carrier to cancer cells and ovalbumin (OVA) as a model drug. From multiangle light scattering analysis, the conjugate containing multiple HA and OVA molecules (100k4HA-3OVA) adopted a highly condensed structure. When the conjugates were added to a quartz crystal microbalance cell coated with CD44 which is one of the major HA receptors, a larger frequency change was observed than HA. FITC-labeled conjugates were incorporated into cancer cells expressing CD44 at a high level. These results indicate that the affinity of HA for CD44 improved by adopting a highly condensed structure. We wish that such a biocompatible material becomes a breakthrough in DDS. Keywords: Polysaccharide / Biocompatibility / Hyaluronic Acid / Lectin / Multiangle Light Scattering / Quartz Crystal Microbalance |
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| Is PEG an Antigen or Immunogen, That is The Question | Koichi SHIRAISHI |
| <Abstract> Poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG） is known as a bio-inert polymer and has been used for protein conjugation and surface coverage of nanoparticles. PEG has been used in recent technonolgy for mRNA-lipid nanoparticles （mRNA-LNP）, however, PEG-related immune responses, especially immunogenicity concern against PEG, attracted much attention. We have examined immunogenicity of PEG （we refer to PEG as a PEG diol） and PEG-conjugates. We found affinities of PEG or methoxy terminated PEG-OH to anti-PEG antibodies （anti-PEG Ab） were very weak （Kd＝10－4 M）. We synthesized a methoxy terminated PEG-block-poly（benzyl L-aspartate） （PEG-PBLA）, which possesses 31 hydrophobic BLA units, exhibited high affinity to anti-PEG Ab（Kd＝10－8 M） and elicited anti-PEG IgM antibody response. In contrast to PEG-PBLA, methoxy terminated PEG-block-poly（L-lysine） conjugating with DOTA-Gd group （PEG-P（Lys-DOTA-Gd）） exhibited no elicitaion of anti-PEG IgM. We concluded that PEG itself is a hapten, however PEG-conjugates, especially conjugation of hydrophobic block, exhibit immunogenicity. Keywords: Poly（ethylene glycol）（PEG） / Anti-PEG Antibodies / PEGylation / Immunogenicity / Hapten / Antigen-Antibody Interactions / mRNA-Lipid Nano Particles （mRNA-LNP） |
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| Induction of Immunotolerance by Polysaccharides: Development of Therapeutics for Allergy and Autoimmunity Treatment | Takeshi MORI |
| <Abstract> Polysaccharides play various roles in the human body, and their function as ligands for receptors is one of the most important. In this review, I focus on the ligand function of polysaccharides in the induction of immune tolerance. The progress of research on the use of polysaccharides as therapeutic agents for allergy and autoimmune diseases by utilizing them to induce immune tolerance against allergenic proteins and self-antigen proteins will be introduced. Keywords: Polysaccharides / Immunotolerance / Allergy / Autoimmunity |
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| Symbiotic Supramolecular Polymeric Materials | Anton W. BOSMAN |
| <Abstract> Supramolecular polymers comprising quadruple hydrogen bonding units show great promise for their use in regenerative medicine whereby the patient's body own repair mechanisms are used to replace damaged tissues and organs. These supramolecular polymers combine biodegradability with elasticity, toughness and durability, yet are easily processable with techniques typically used for resorbable implants such as electro-spinning or injection in situ. The role of the implanted biomaterial is merely to be a temporarily scaffold for tissue growth that will be fully resorbed after it has fulfilled its mechanical and topological function. However, these materials need to be biocompatible, mimic the local tissue's mechanics and be adaptable to the flexible nature of living tissue. Here, I will show that all these features are possible with supramolecular polymeric materials, and that their symbiosis with living tissue is already delivering their promise in the clinic. Keywords: Supramolecular Polymers / Biomedical Materials / Regenerative Medicine / In Situ Tissue Engineering |
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| Polymer Science and I: A Personal Account |
| Inspiration and Realization | Kazuki MURAI |
| <Abstract> This essay is the story describing the experiences and memories obtained by investigational activity from the time being a student until becoming a researcher. The research in my life is an interesting “play” that changes to “realization” by the “inspiration” in my brain. I would be so happy if reading this essay stimulates the interest of young researchers. |
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| Front-Line Polymer Science |
| Science of Hydrogel Surfaces | Aya M. AKIMOTO |
| <Abstract> Hydrogel surfaces are an old and new research area; they began to be regarded as an important material part around the time of the development of soft contact lenses in the 1960s and were discussed as a science in the 1990s and 2000s. Since then, a huge number of studies have been conducted on adhesion for applications such as hemostatic agents, wearable devices, and soft robotics, and the pursuit of functionality is accelerating. However, there is still no rigorous definition of “what is a hydrogel surface? and “What is the critical difference between a solid surface and a hydrogel surface? This is a new field that is still full of unanswered questions. In this paper, I would like to outline the current status of research on “hydrogel surfaces” with me defining “hydrogel surfaces” in a vague way as “the near-surface region of bulk hydrogels (the depth of the surface layer depends on individual studies). Keywords: Hydrogel / Surface / Surface-Grafting / Adhesion / Dynamics / Multimodality / Phase Separation / Wrinkle Pattern |
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