Electrospun silk fibroin scaffolds with macropores for bone regeneration: an in vitro and in vivo study

Tissue Eng Part A. 2010 Apr;16(4):1271-9. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEA.2009.0328.

Abstract

We developed three-dimensional electrospun silk fibroin (ESF) scaffolds with controllable pore size. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ESF scaffolds with pores (P-ESF) for bone regeneration via in vitro and in vivo studies, with a comparison to a commercially available porous three-dimensional polylactic acid (PLA) scaffold. P-ESF supported significantly higher proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of osteoblasts than PLA in vitro (p < 0.05). Moreover, higher expression levels of activated adhesion-related proteins, including focal adhesion kinase, were observed in the P-ESF than in PLA, as confirmed by western blot analyses. Microcomputed tomography revealed that 78.30% of the original bone volume was attained in the P-ESF implantation group at 7 weeks after critical bone defect formation in rat calvaria. Comparatively, the PLA implantation group showed only 49.31%. Histological evaluation also showed new bone tissue formation upon P-ESF implantation. Taken together, the P-ESF scaffold may be a good bone substitute for bone regeneration.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • 3T3 Cells
  • Animals
  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Bombyx
  • Bone Regeneration*
  • Fibroins
  • Lactic Acid
  • Male
  • Materials Testing
  • Mice
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Polyesters
  • Polymers
  • Radiography
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Skull / diagnostic imaging
  • Skull / physiology
  • Skull / surgery
  • Tissue Engineering / methods*
  • Tissue Scaffolds*

Substances

  • Biocompatible Materials
  • Polyesters
  • Polymers
  • Lactic Acid
  • poly(lactide)
  • Fibroins