An artificial extracellular matrix created by hepatocyte growth factor fused to IgG-Fc

The design of artificial extracellular matrices (ECM) has attracted much attention in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well as in molecular biology research. A recombinant hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), fused to an immunoglobulin G (IgG) Fc region (abbreviated as AeHGF-Fc) was constructed and confirmed by Western blot assay. Almost similar amounts of HepG2 cells adhered to AeHGF-Fc-coated surface compared to collagen-coated one with large morphological changes. Immobilized AeHGF-Fc continuously activated Akt in HepG2 cells whereas Akt activation induced by soluble HGF rapidly decreased with time, indicating that immobilized AeHGF-Fc follows different signal transduction pathways compared to soluble HGF.