摘要
Recombinant keratins possess strong hemostatic and wound healing properties but suffer from poor water solubility that restricts their bioactivities in biomedical applications.Herein,we report the rational design and synthesis of water-soluble keratins using a simple methodology named the QTY code.In vitro biophysical analyses and molecular dynamic simulation demonstrated a 200-fold increase in the water solubility of QTY variant keratins without apparent structural changes compared to native proteins.Homotypic self-assembly was observed for the first time in recombinant keratins in an aqueous environment,without urea and after QTY modification.Cell and animal experiments showed the in situ gel-forming capability of QTY variant keratins with superior hemostatic and wound healing activities at the wound sites compared to native recombinant keratins.Our work not only presented a simple and feasible pathway to produce large amounts of water-soluble keratins using QTY modification but also validated the enhanced self-assembly,hemostasis,and wound healing properties of these novel keratin species that may open up new venues for biomedical applications.
基金
National Natural Science Foundation of China,Grant/Award Numbers:11972099,82202340
Venture&Innovation Support Program for Chongqing Overseas Returnees,Grant/Award Number:cx2020079
Scientific and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,Grant/Award Numbers:2023CDJXY-050,2023CDJXY-051。