Modification of human MSC surface with oligopeptide-PEG-lipids for selective binding to activated endothelium

Promising cell therapies using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is proposed for stroke patients. Therefore, we aimed to efficiently accumulate human MSC (hMSC) to damaged brain area to improve the therapeutic effect using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-conjugated phospholipid (PEG-lipid) carrying an oligopeptide as a ligand, specific for E-selectin which is upregulated on activated endothelial cells under hypoxia-like stroke. Here we synthesized E-selectin-binding oligopeptide (ES-bp) conjugated with PEG spacer having different molecular weights from 1 to 40 kDa. We found that ES-bp can be immobilized onto the hMSC surface through PEG-lipid without influence on cell growth and differentiation into adipocytes and osteocytes, respectively. It is also possible to control the immobilization of ES-bp on hMSC surface (<10⁸ ES-bp per cell). Immobilized ES-bp can be continuously immobilized at the outside of cell membrane when PEG-lipids with PEG 5 and 40 kDa were used. In addition, the modified hMSC can specifically attach onto E-selectin-immobilized surface as a model surface of activated endothelium in human blood, indicating the sufficient number of immobilized ES-bp onto hMSC. Thus, this technique is one of the candidates for hMSC accumulation to cerebral infarction area. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 1779-1792, 2019.