Lazaris Anthoula, Arcidiacono Steven, Huang Yue, Zhou Jiang-Feng, Duguay Francois, Chretien Nathalie, Welsh Elizabeth A, Soares Jason W, Karatzas Costas N
Nexia Biotechnologies, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec J7V 8P5, Canada.
Science. 2002 Jan 18;295(5554):472-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1065780.
Spider silks are protein-based "biopolymer" filaments or threads secreted by specialized epithelial cells as concentrated soluble precursors of highly repetitive primary sequences. Spider dragline silk is a flexible, lightweight fiber of extraordinary strength and toughness comparable to that of synthetic high-performance fibers. We sought to "biomimic" the process of spider silk production by expressing in mammalian cells the dragline silk genes (ADF-3/MaSpII and MaSpI) of two spider species. We produced soluble recombinant (rc)-dragline silk proteins with molecular masses of 60 to 140 kilodaltons. We demonstrated the wet spinning of silk monofilaments spun from a concentrated aqueous solution of soluble rc-spider silk protein (ADF-3; 60 kilodaltons) under modest shear and coagulation conditions. The spun fibers were water insoluble with a fine diameter (10 to 40 micrometers) and exhibited toughness and modulus values comparable to those of native dragline silks but with lower tenacity. Dope solutions with rc-silk protein concentrations >20% and postspinning draw were necessary to achieve improved mechanical properties of the spun fibers. Fiber properties correlated with finer fiber diameter and increased birefringence.
蜘蛛丝是由特殊上皮细胞分泌的基于蛋白质的“生物聚合物”细丝或丝线，作为高度重复一级序列的浓缩可溶性前体。蜘蛛拖牵丝是一种柔韧、轻质的纤维，具有非凡的强度和韧性，可与合成高性能纤维相媲美。我们试图通过在哺乳动物细胞中表达两种蜘蛛物种的拖牵丝基因（ADF-3/MaSpII和MaSpI）来“仿生”蜘蛛丝的生产过程。我们生产出了分子量为60至140千道尔顿的可溶性重组（rc）-拖牵丝蛋白。我们展示了在适度剪切和凝固条件下，由可溶性rc-蜘蛛丝蛋白（ADF-3；60千道尔顿）的浓缩水溶液纺出的丝单丝的湿法纺丝过程。纺出的纤维不溶于水，直径细小（10至40微米），并表现出与天然拖牵丝相当的韧性和模量值，但强度较低。rc-丝蛋白浓度>20%的纺丝溶液和纺丝后拉伸对于提高纺出纤维的机械性能是必要的。纤维性能与更细的纤维直径和增加的双折射相关。
