Evaluation on in vitro biocompatibility of silk fibroin-based biomaterials with

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J Biomed Mater Res A. 2008 Sep 8.

Evaluation on in vitro biocompatibility of silk fibroin-based

biomaterials with primarily cultured hippocampal neurons.

Tang X, Ding F, Yang Y, Hu N, Wu H, Gu X.

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University,

Nantong, Jiangsu Province 226001, People's Republic of China.

Silk fibroin-based biomaterials have recently found increasing

applications in the tissue-engineering field including the generation

of artificial nerve guides for peripheral nerve repair.

The aim of this study was to investigate the suitability of silk

fibroin as a candidate biomaterial for central nervous system (CNS)

therapy.

We found that substrates made up of silk fibroin fibers supported the

survival and growth of the attached hippocampal neurons by using

morphological observation. We also cultured the hippocampal neurons

in silk fibroin extract for different times, and observed no

significant difference occurring in their morphology, cell viability

for these cultured hippocampal neurons as compared to those cultured

in plain neuronal culture medium.

Moreover, immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, and Western blot analysis

revealed that no significant difference was found in mRNA or protein

levels of the growth-associated molecules, such as brain-derived

neurotrophic factor, growth-associated protein-43, neurofilament,

nerve growth factor, and nerve growth factor-receptor P75, between

the hippocampal neurons cultured in the silk fibroin extract and in

plain neuronal culture medium.

Taken together, all the results demonstrate that silk fibroin has

good biocompatibility with primarily cultured hippocampal neurons

without any significant cytotoxic effects on their cell phenotype and

functions, suggesting a potential possible use of silk fibroin for

preparing the tissue-engineered nerve guides or drug delivery

vehicles to treat CNS injuries or diseases.