Effect of Telopeptides in Collagen on the Behavior of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells In Vitro

Collagen is one of the widespread in the body proteins of the extracellular matrix, which is widely used in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering as scaffolds for cell culturing and transplantation. The protein is a triple-helix molecule with telopeptides at its ends, which are a specific sequence of amino acids. To use collagen in regenerative medicine, an enzymatic method of protein extraction from animal tissues is usually used, which results in the cleavage of terminal telopeptides. The effect of the absence of peptides in collagen on cell behavior has not yet been sufficiently studied. In this study, we compared the adhesion, proliferation, and migration of cells cultured on collagen with and without telopeptides. The integrity of the main chain and the absence of telopeptides after collagen treatment with pepsin were confirmed by electrophoresis and UV spectroscopy. Analysis of the interaction of mesenchymal stromal cells with the studied substrates demonstrated the absence of the effect of telopeptides in collagen on the adhesion and proliferation of cells cultured on it. At the same time, the area of cell spreading decreases and the rate of their migration increases on telopeptide-free collagen.