Biomimetic Presentation of Cryptic Ligands <i>via</i> Single-Chain Nanogels for Synergistic Regulation of Stem Cells
Xiaoyu Chen, Nathanael Chun‐Him Lai, Kongchang Wei, Rui Li, Miao Cui, Boguang Yang, Siu Hong Dexter Wong, Yingrui Deng, Jiashen Li, Xintao Shuai, Liming Bian
Abstract
Dynamic controlling the nanoscale presentation of synergistic ligands to stem cells by biomimetic single-chain materials can provide critical insights to understand the molecular crosstalk underlying cells and their extracellular matrix. Here, a stimuli-responsive single-chain macromolecular nanoregulator with conformational dynamics is fabricated based on an advanced scale-up single polymeric chain nanogel (SCNG). Such a carefully designed SCNG is capable of mediating a triggered copresentation of the master and cryptic ligands in a single molecule to elicit the synergistic crosstalk between different intracellular signaling pathways, thereby considerably boosting the bioactivity of the presented ligands. This controllable nanoswitching-on of cell-adhesive ligands' presentation allows the regulation of cell adhesion and fate from molecular scale. The modular nature of this synthetic macromolecular nanoregulator makes it a versatile nanomaterial platform to assist basic and fundamental studies in a wide array of research topics.