Protein-Protein Interaction Analysis of Human Amniotic Membrane and Bone Cartilage for Cartilage Repair using Computational Techniques

Abstract

Human Amniotic Membrane (HAM) is emerging as a promising regenerative medicine treatment, particularly for bone and cartilage regeneration. HAM, derived from the placenta—a tissue that is frequently discarded after birth—has a lot of potential due to its unique features. It can be handled in a variety of ways, including dry and cryopreserved, each with its own set of benefits. What makes HAM particularly exciting is its potential to reduce inflammation, prevent infection, and promote tissue regeneration, making it a strong option for addressing the limitations of current cartilage repair procedures. This study focused on investigating how HAM-derived protein (Fibronectin) could aid in the regeneration of articular bone cartilage. Modern computational tools were used to investigate Protein-Protein interaction analysis of HAM with Articular Bone Cartilage. The study obtained some intriguing outcomes by using technologies like ScanNet to identify the binding sites of proteins and HADDOCK to simulate their interactions. The study also investigated how changing an amino acid of HAM protein (ARG79 of Fibronectin type-III 14), would affect these interactions. The findings demonstrated that HAM protein have substantial interactions with articular bone cartilage proteins, particularly with the Fibronectin type-III 14 domain. This indicates that interaction of mutated Fibronectin could play a key role in cartilage repair and regeneration. These findings provide a hopeful peek into how HAM could be exploited to create new therapeutics for cartilage injury. Looking ahead, there is a lot of room for additional investigation. Expanding the study to encompass a broader spectrum of HAM proteins and verifying these findings in laboratory or clinical trials may be critical to translating these findings into practical therapeutics. This type of research could eventually lead to novel therapies for cartilage regeneration and advance the area of regenerative medicine, providing new hope to patients suffering from cartilage-related diseases.