Bioinspired RGD-Engineered Bacteriophage NanofiberCues against Oxidative Stress

Instructive tissue engineering biomaterials provide a vascular niche and protect oxidative stress in injured tissue. In this study, we exploited bioinspired bacteriophage nanofibers, previously recognized by their biochemical and structural cues inducing angiogenesis, as an anti-oxidant tissue engineering material. We demonstrated that topological cues of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-engineered bacteriophage nanofibers provide angiogenic niches and cytoprotective functions against cellular oxidative stress with increased expression of anti-oxidant enzymes heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) via the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK)–nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor2 (Nrf2)-mediated signaling pathway, where a high density of RGD cues on phage body support efficient interaction of cells with phage cues. These bioinspired RGD-engineered bacteriophage nanofibers can serve as a novel therapeutic platform for curing ischemic diseases.