Cell spreading and viability on zein films may be facilitated by transglutaminase

•Zein films deposited on glass cover slips enhanced NIH3T3 cell spreading and viability.•Cellular response to zein surfaces is believed to involve the polyglutamine peptides in zein structure.•Zein is a substrate for transglutaminase where zein is a glutamine donor.•The mechanism for zein enhanced cell spreading may be cross-linking between zein and transglutaminase excreted from 3T3 cells.

Zein is a biocompatible corn protein potentially useful in the development of biomaterials. In this study, the deposition of zein on oxygen plasma treated glass cover slips significantly enhanced cell spreading and viability. The mechanism for cellular response to zein coated surfaces was thought to involve the polyglutamine peptides on the zein structure. We hypothesized that zein was a substrate for tissue transglutaminase (tTG), an extracellular enzyme involved in cell-surface interactions. SDS-PAGE results suggested an interaction between zein and tTG, where zein was the glutamine donor. Cross-linking between zein and tTG may be the first step in successful cell adhesion and spreading.

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