Premium
H omo‐ and heteropolymer self‐assembly of recombinant trichocytic keratins
Author(s) -
Parker Rachael N.,
Roth Kristina L.,
Kim Christina,
McCord Jennifer P.,
Van Dyke Mark E.,
Grove Tijana Z.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
biopolymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1097-0282
pISSN - 0006-3525
DOI - 10.1002/bip.23037
Subject(s) - keratin , chemistry , recombinant dna , intermediate filament , biocompatibility , microbiology and biotechnology , regeneration (biology) , biophysics , biochemistry , cell , cytoskeleton , biology , gene , genetics , organic chemistry
In the past two decades, keratin biomaterials have shown impressive results as scaffolds for tissue engineering, wound healing, and nerve regeneration. In addition to its intrinsic biocompatibility, keratin interacts with specific cell receptors eliciting beneficial biochemical cues. However, during extraction from natural sources, such as hair and wool fibers, natural keratins are subject to extensive processing conditions that lead to formation of unwanted by‐products. Additionally, natural keratins suffer from limited sequence tunability. Recombinant keratin proteins can overcome these drawbacks while maintaining the desired chemical and physical characteristics of natural keratins. Herein, we present the bacterial expression, purification, and solution characterization of human hair keratins K31 and K81. The obligate heterodimerization of the K31/K81 pair that results in formation of intermediate filaments is maintained in the recombinant proteins. Surprisingly, we have for the first time observed new zero‐ and one‐dimensional nanostructures from homooligomerization of K81 and K31, respectively. Further analysis of the self‐assembly mechanism highlights the importance of disulfide crosslinking in keratin self‐assembly.