IDR - IIT Kharagpur

Development and Characterization of Fibroin Protein Based Cell Culture Matrices from Antheraea Mylitta and Bombyx Mori Silkworms

Development and Characterization of Fibroin Protein Based Cell Culture Matrices from Antheraea Mylitta and Bombyx Mori Silkworms

 

Commercial Silk Is A Proteinaceous Covering, Spun By The Silkworms During The Fifth And Last Larval Instar. The Cocoon Envelopes The Silkworm And It Is Within The Cocoon That The Pupation Occurs. The Cocoon Generally Contains Two Major Silk Proteins; Fibroin And Sericin. Fibroin, A Hydrophobic Glycoprotein, Forms The Core Of The Cocoon And Has Species-Specific Amino Acid Sequence And Structural Differences. Bombyx Mori, The Domesticated Mulberry Silkworm Belonging To Family Bombycidae, And Antheraea Mylitta, Wild Tropical Non-Mulberry Silkworm, Belonging To Family Saturniidae Are The Largest Silk Producers Among Their Families. B. Mori Fibroin Threads Have Been Used As Sutures For Decades And This Protein Is Currently Exploited Tremendously As A Biomaterial. Relatively Little Is Known About The Biomaterial Properties Of Fibroin Of A. Mylitta. In The Form Of Homogenous Protein Solutions And As Two Dimensional Matrices Or Films, A. Mylitta And B. Mori Fibroin Invoked Minimal Inflammatory Responses Both In Terms Of Nitric Oxide Production And Tnfα Release From Macrophages. Like B. Mori Fibroin, The Surface Morphology, Mechanical Strength, Hydrophobicity/Hydrophilicity Ratio And Thermal Properties Of A. Mylitta Fibroin Films Were Favorable For Biomaterial Design. Moreover, Cell Adhesion, Spreading, Viability And Proliferation Were Enhanced On A. Mylitta Fibroin Films And Were Comparable To Tissue Culture Polystyrene Control. In Terms Of Kinetics Of Cell Adhesion, A. Mylitta Fibroin Showed A More Rapid Cellularization As Compared To B. Mori Fibroin Films. On Formulating Blended Matrices With Polymers Like PEG 4000, A. Mylitta Fibroin Films Showed Higher Thermostability, Greater Surface Roughness And Greater Elongation At Break Than PEG 4000 Blended B. Mori Fibroin Films. PEG 4000 Blended A. Mylitta Fibroin Films Show Greater Ability To Support Metabolic Activity Of Human Osteosarcoma Cells And Exhibits Comparable Mineralization As On Polystyrene Control. Three-Dimensional Matrices Were Fabricated After Conjugating An Oligosaccharide, Lactose, To The Fibroin Chain Of B. Mori To Enhance Its Cell Adhesion Potential. On Experimentation With Primary Subcutaneous Fibroblasts, It Was Found That These Cells Growing On Lactose Conjugated Silk Fibroin Matrices Showed Little Or No Myofibroblastic Phenotype, Even On Addition Of Differentiating Agent, Transforming Growth Factor Β. The Lowering Of Α Smooth Muscle Actin Expression (Marker For Myofibroblasts) Leads Us To Conclude That These Matrices Might Avoid Scar Formation During Wound Healing. In Conclusion, Two-Dimensional Fibroin Films From Mulberry And Non-Mulberry Silkworms Have Been Demonstrated As Biomaterial Matrices For In Vitro Fibroblast And Osteoblast Culture. Three- Dimensional Lactose Conjugated Fibroin Scaffolds Support Non-Hypertrophic Scar Formation In Full Thickness As Well As Superficial Wound Healing.

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