Proceedings of nanoGe Spring Meeting 2022 (NSM22)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nsm.2022.245
Publication date: 7th February 2022
Use of light for selective and spatio-temporally resolved control of cell functions (photoceutics) is emerging as a valuable alternative to standard electrical and chemical methods. We propose the use of organic semiconductors as efficient and biocompatible optical transducers, and we focus in particular on breakthrough applications in the field of regenerative medicine. Devices able to selectively and precisely modulate the fate of living cells upon visible light will be presented and critically discussed. Examples of practical applications include optical modulation of the activity of both excitable and non-excitable cells, control of essential cellular switches like transient receptor potential channels and other cationic channels, as well as effective modulation of intracellular calcium signalling for precise control of cell metabolic processes.
As a representative example with a high translational potential, we describe here in detail a biointerface to gain optical control of Endothelial Colony Forming Cells, which represent the only known Endothelial Progenitor Cell subset and are valuable candidates to induce revascularization of ischemic tissues. We demonstrate that polymer-mediated optical excitation induces a robust enhancement of lumen formation in vitro. We identify the pathways leading to this effective enhancement in Endothelial Colony Forming Cells network formation, as due to light-induced activation of the non-selective Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) cation channel. Moreover, we show that polymer-mediated optical excitation induces a long-lasting increase in intracellular calcium ions concentration, [Ca2+]i. Pharmacological and genetic manipulation reveals that the Ca2+ response to light is triggered by extracellular Ca2+ entry through TRPV1, whose activation requires the non-toxic production of reactive oxygen species at the interface between the photoactive material and the cell membrane.
Our results represent, to the best of our knowledge, the first report of use of polymer-based optical modulation to restore cardiac function in vitro, by modulating cellular activities of one of the main characters involved in cardiac repair.
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