Open AccessPorous Silk Scaffolds for Delivery of Growth Factors and Stem Cells to Enhance Bone Regeneration
Author(s) -
Wenjie Zhang,
Chao Zhu,
Dongxia Ye,
Ling Xu,
Xiaochen Zhang,
Qianju Wu,
Xiuli Zhang,
David L. Kaplan,
Xinquan Jiang
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0102371
Subject(s) - fibroin , regeneration (biology) , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , mesenchymal stem cell , tissue engineering , angiogenesis , bone marrow , bone healing , chemistry , silk , biomedical engineering , materials science , biology , anatomy , immunology , medicine , cancer research , composite material
Stem cell-based tissue engineering shows promise for bone regeneration and requires artificial microenvironments to enhance the survival, proliferation and differentiation of the seeded cells. Silk fibroin, as a natural protein polymer, has unique properties for tissue regeneration. The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of porous silk scaffolds on rat bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) by lenti-GFP tracking both in vitro and in vivo in cranial bone defects. The number of cells seeded within silk scaffolds in rat cranial bone defects increased from 2 days to 2 weeks after implantation, followed by a decrease at eight weeks. Importantly, the implanted cells survived for 8 weeks in vivo and some of the cells might differentiate into endothelial cells and osteoblasts induced by the presence of VEGF and BMP-2 in the scaffolds to promote angiogenesis and osteogenesis. The results demonstrate that porous silk scaffolds provide a suitable niche to maintain long survival and function of the implanted cells for bone regeneration.