Fibrosis is chronic scarring of tissue and it can strike nearly every system in the body. According to the National Institutes of Health, the government estimates that 45% of deaths in the United States can be attributed to fibrotic disorders. In the lungs, fibrosis restricts breathing, so understanding how scarring occurs, and ultimately how to stop it, are essential questions -; especially in the case of IPF, a form of pulmonary fibrosis with no known cause.
Taite and Pierce-Cottler want to understand the role of angiogenesis -; a natural part of tissue repair after injury -; when the lungs won't stop trying to heal, turning pliant tissue stiff and fibrous until they no longer function. To achieve this functionality, Taite's team chemically couples specific peptides -; strings of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins -; with derivatives of polyethylene glycol, a common off-the-shelf crystalline polymer, to form a PEG-peptide conjugate. The peptides are either purchased or made using a programmable synthesizer.
"This project represents a novel angiogenesis assay that allows investigation of matrix stiffness on microvascular sprouting," Taite said.
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