Fibronectin peptides that bind PDGF-BB enhance survival of cells and tissue under stress

Stressors after injury from a multitude of factors can lead to cell death. We have identified four fibronectin (FN) peptides, two from the first FN type III repeat (FNIII(1)), one from the 13(th) FN type III repeat (FNIII(13)), and one from FN variable region (IIICS), that when tethered to a surface acted as platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) enhancers to promote cell survival. One of the FNIII(1) peptides and its smallest (14mer) bioactive form (P12) were also active in solution. Specifically, P12 bound PDGF-BB (KD = 200nM), enhanced adult human dermal fibroblast (AHDF) survival under serum starvation, oxidative or endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stressors, and limited burn injury progression in a rat hot comb model. Furthermore, P12 inhibited ER stress-induced c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation. Although many growth factors have been found to bind FN directly or indirectly, this is the first report to identify peptide sequences of growth factor-binding sites in FN. The finding of these novel peptides further delineated how the extracellular matrix protein FN can support cell survival. Since the peptide P12 is active in either soluble form or tethered to a substrate, it will have multifactorial uses as a bioactive in tissue engineering.