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"Promoting Tissue Healing and Regeneration Using Peptide-Modified Glycosaminoglycans"

Alyssa Panitch, Ph.D.
Wallace H. Coulter Department Chair & Professor
Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
at Georgia Tech and Emory University
 

ABSTRACT
Proteoglycans play an important role in extracellular matrix remodeling, homeostasis, and signaling. Due to their negatively charged glycosaminoglycan chains as well as distinct core protein structures, they interact with a variety of molecules, including matrix proteins, growth factors, cytokines and chemokines, pathogens, and enzymes.  Here we focus on two bioconjugates that were designed to mimic features of existing proteoglycans.  The first models the biological activity of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan, decorin.  Like native decorin, our decorin mimetic plays a key role in collagen organization and wound healing.    Recently, we have augmented the decorin mimetic with peptide ligands to the avb3 integrin receptor found on endothelial and endothelial progenitor cells. The avb3 ligand confers angiogenic activity to the decorin mimetic and supports wound healing in an ischemic environment in diabetic animals.  The second mimetic is designed to target inflamed endothelium to restore physical barrier function of the endothelial glycocalyx.  By restoring barrier function, the glycocalyx mimetic reduces intravascular thrombosis and inflammation thereby improving healing outcomes following ischemia reperfusion injury in animal models.
 

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Panitch works on biomaterials with a specific emphasis on designing proteoglycan mimetics to control tissue healing.  Her work has led to the foundation of three start up companies in the biotech and pharma space.  She was awarded the NSF CAREER award and is a member and Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE) and the National Academy of Inventors.  She also serves as an Editor for the Journal of Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.  She is currently Professor and Chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory.