Polyethylene terephthalate membrane grafted with peptidomimetics: endothelial cell compatibility and retention under shear stress

The present work aimed to treat a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface to make the biomaterial more 'attractive' in terms of attachment and shear stress response to endothelial cells with a view to possible applications in vascular grafting. A surface wet-chemistry protocol was applied to graft track-etched PET membranes with RGD peptidomimetics based on the tyrosine template and active at the nano-level vs. isolated human αvβ3 receptor, which was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle measurement and atomic force microscopy for characterization. A primary culture of human saphenous vein endothelial cells was used before and after sterilization of the membranes (heat treatment or γ-ray irradiation) to test the benefit of grafting. The optimal surface concentrations of grafted molecules were around 50 pmol/cm². Compared to GRGDS, the peptidomimetics promoted cell attachment with similar or slightly better performances. Endothelialized grafted supports were further exposed to 2 h of shear stress mimicking arterial conditions. Cells were lost on non-grafted PET whereas cells on grafted polymers sterilized by γ-ray irradiation withstood forces with no significant difference in focal contacts. At the mRNA level, cells on functionalized PET were able to respond to shear stress with NFkB upregulation. Thus, grafting of peptidomimetics as ligands of the αvβ3 integrin could be a relevant strategy to improve the adhesion of human endothelial cells and to obtain an efficient endothelialized PET for the surgery of small-diameter vascular prostheses.