Study published in the international journal “Applied Sciences”, by the Italian National Institute of Health and the University of Rome “La Sapienza”
“Applied Sciences” is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on all aspects of applied natural sciences published semimonthly online by MDPI.
This article, among the many published on the subject, is of particular interest for Serinnovation as the studies were carried out thanks to the supply of silk shells provided by the CREA of Padua which, for the purpose, used the cocoons produced by farmers within the project.
Special Issue
Advances in Biomedical Applications: Biomaterials, Medical Devices and Regenerative Medicine.
This Special Issue invites papers that cover original research on advances in applied biomaterials and regenerative medicine for innovative biomedical applications as well as for improving the state of knowledge related to evidence that can be applied in the design, characterization, and evaluation of critical aspects. Potential topics include but are not limited to applications in dentistry, odontostomatology, orthopedics, and maxillofacial surgery.
From silk cocoons, fibroin supports for stem cells with applications in tissue engineering*, regenerative medicine and oncology.
Article published on 11/30/2021 – Section “Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering”: “Silk Fibroin Scaffolds as Biomaterials for 3D Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Cultures”.
Biodegradable scaffolds play an important role in creating a 3D environment to induce tissue formation and, together with stem cell technologies, are believed to hold enormous potential for tissue regeneration. Different biomaterials, natural and synthetic, bioresorbable and permanent, have been studied for their production. Silk fibroin (SF), a fibrous protein produced by silkworms Bombyx mori, thanks to its extraordinary mechanical, physical, biological, and biodegradable properties, gained great attention for biomedical applications, and it is considered a promising biomaterial for bone tissue engineering used to generate scaffolds in various formats such as hydrogels, spheres, capsules, films, and sponges.
The most common way to cultivate cells in tissue engineering is to use a scaffold on which specific cells can be seeded. Recently, there has been a growing focus on potential applications of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs)**. MSCs can be isolated from a wide variety of adult tissues (bone marrow, dental pulp, and adipose tissue) and fetal umbilical cord tissue. In this study, SF scaffolds were designed, produced, and analyzed by a multimethod approach based on micro-CT, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE–SEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The structural characterization of the designed SF scaffold will help to understand the feasibility of their use as biomaterials for supporting 3D cell cultures in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, utilizing in particular the MSCs from human Wharton’s jelly of the umbilical cord (WJ-MSC)***.
* Tissue engineering, a practical application of medicine, is a multidisciplinary science that aims to build biological or organic prostheses for transplantation in the patient, through the sowing of stem cells on special supports (scaffolds) and in the presence of specific growth factors (signal proteins).
** Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells are those cells with particular biological characteristics, which are able to replicate and differentiate.
***Wharton’s jelly is a gelatinous substance found in the umbilical cord and which serves to protect and isolate the sanumbilical vessels.
ABSTRACT
Silk fibroin (SF), a protein-based fiber extracted from Bombyx mori cocoons, has recently emerged with great potential for the biomedical field to be used as a biomaterial processable in a variety of formats and applications, due to its natural characteristics. The aims of the present study were to characterize the structural properties of the SF scaffolds, in the format of porous sponges, and to investigate their feasibility to support the adhesion of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells isolated from human Wharton’s jelly of the umbilical cord (WJ-MSC). Adhesion is a prerequisite for using the SF scaffold as biomaterial for supporting three-dimensional (3D) WJ-MSC cultures for several applications. The integration among micro-computed tomography, confocal analysis, and field emission scanning electron microscopy allowed carrying out a deep investigation based on quantitative morphological parameters and qualitative observations at high resolution. High levels of porosity, interconnection, and contact surface–volume ratio confirmed the appropriateness of the designed SF porous scaffolds as supports for cell cultures. WJ-MSC was demonstrated to be capable of adhering to and colonizing the SF scaffold applicable as a 3D cell culture system, of conducting in vitro experiments in a more controlled environment, and possibly of being used in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and applications in oncology.
Authors
Luisa Milazzo (1), Francesca Vulcano (1), Giampiero Macioce (1), Giovanna Marziali (1), Francesca Iosi (2), Lucia Bertuccini (2), Mario Falchi (3), Francesco Rech (4), Adele Giampaolo (1), Raffaella Pecci (5), Ilaria Campioni (6), Rossella Bedini (5).
(1) Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Italian National Institute of Health – Rome, Italy
(2) Core Facilities, Italian National Institute of Health – Rome, Italy
(3) National AIDS Center, Italian National Institute of Health – Rome, Italy
(4) Department of Maternal and Child Health and Urological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Policlinico Umberto I Hospital – Rome, Italy
(5) National Centre of Innovative Technologies in Public Health, Italian National Institute of Health – Rome, Italy
(6) Independent Researcher – Rome, Italy