Ovalbumin (OVA) is the most abundant protein in egg whites that is unnecessary in the egg yolk-based food industry. The development of OVA-based functional materials is of great interest. Collagen is a major component of the extracellular matrix. In this study, an OVA fragment, the OVA secretory signal peptide (OVA SP), was loaded in collagen gels, which were used as a cell scaffold for various types of cells. We examined the effect of OVA SP loaded in collagen gels to cell properties. The peptide was initially bound to the collagen fibers and then released from the gel. Our results indicate that the released OVA SP suppressed the integrin-mediated cell adhesion and focal adhesion formation. However, the adhesion of NIH3T3 cells was not suppressed by treatment with a chelating agent and an anti-β1 antibody. Our results suggest that OVA SP nonspecifically interacts with cell surface proteins. The adhesion of various cell types on collagen gels were changed by the addition of OVA SP, depending on their integrin expression pattern. Additionally, the differentiation of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells was promoted on the OVA SP-loaded collagen gels. This suggests that OVA SP may modulate both the differentiation and the adhesion of cells cultured on the collagen gels.
Keywords: cell scaffold; collagen; hydrogel; integrin; ovalbumin; secretory peptide.