Discipline of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Queensland 4000, Brisbane, Australia.
Biomaterials. 2011 Apr;32(10):2445-58. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.12.041. Epub 2011 Jan 19.
The silk structural protein fibroin displays potential for use in tissue engineering. We present here our opinion of its value as a biomaterial for reconstructing tissues of clinical significance within the human eye. We review the strengths and weaknesses of using fibroin in those parts of the eye that we believe are most amenable to cellular reconstruction, namely the corneoscleral limbus, corneal stroma, corneal endothelium and outer blood-retinal barrier (Ruysch's complex). In these areas we find that by employing the range of manufacturing products afforded by fibroin, relevant structural assemblies can be made for cells expanded ex vivo. Significant questions now need to be answered concerning the effect of this biomaterial on the phenotype of key cell types and the biocompatibility of fibroin within the eye. We conclude that fibroin's strength, structural versatility and potential for modification, combined with the relative simplicity of associated manufacturing processes, make fibroin a worthy candidate for further exploration.
丝结构蛋白丝素在组织工程中具有应用潜力。我们在此介绍了我们对其作为生物材料在人眼中具有临床意义的组织重建的价值的看法。我们回顾了在我们认为最适合细胞重建的眼部部位使用丝素的优缺点，即角巩膜缘、角膜基质、角膜内皮和外血视网膜屏障（Ruysch 复合体）。在这些领域，我们发现通过利用丝素提供的一系列制造产品，可以为体外扩增的细胞制造相关的结构组件。现在需要回答关于这种生物材料对关键细胞类型表型的影响以及丝素在眼睛内的生物相容性的重大问题。我们得出结论，丝素的强度、结构多功能性和修饰潜力，加上相关制造工艺的相对简单性，使其成为进一步探索的有价值的候选物。
