The effect of gold nanorods on cell-mediated collagen remodeling.

Sisco, Patrick N; Wilson, Christopher G; Mironova, Ekaterina; Baxter, Sarah C; Murphy, Catherine J; Goldsmith, Edie C · Nano Lett · 2008

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Cardiac fibroblasts, the noncontractile cells of the heart, contribute to myocardial maintenance through the deposition, degradation, and organization of collagen. Adding polyelectrolyte-coated gold nanorods to three-dimensional constructs composed of collagen and cardiac fibroblasts reduced contraction and altered the expression of mRNAs encoding beta-actin, alpha-smooth muscle actin, and collagen type I. These data show that nanomaterials can modulate cell-mediated matrix remodeling and suggest that the targeted delivery of nanomaterials can be applied for antifibrotic therapies.

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