National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China.
Nanjng University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjng 210000, P. R. China.
J Mater Chem B. 2021 Sep 29;9(37):7771-7781. doi: 10.1039/d1tb01320c.
Stem cells have potential utility in wound therapy, however the benefits are often limited due to cell injury from shear stress during injection and poor retention at the wound site. Here, shear-thinning silk nanofiber hydrogels were used to load bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and inject into wound sites to optimize cell retention and accelerate wound healing. The BMSCs in the silk nanofiber hydrogels maintained stemness better than the cells cultured on plates, and the expression of wound healing-related genes was significantly higher in the hydrogels with higher silk concentrations (2 wt%). The silk nanofibers physically prevented migration of BMSCs from the deposition site in the wound bed. In addition to faster wound healing, these BMSC-loaded hydrogels mediated angiogenesis and inflammation and improved collagen deposition and hair follicle regeneration in rats. Considering that these silk nanofiber hydrogels were successfully used here as carriers for stem cells to accelerate wound healing, further study for skin regeneration may be warranted.
干细胞在创伤治疗中有潜在的应用价值，然而，由于注射过程中的剪切力导致细胞损伤以及在创伤部位的保留效果不佳，其益处往往受到限制。在这里，使用剪切稀化丝纳米纤维水凝胶来负载骨髓间充质干细胞（BMSCs）并注射到创伤部位，以优化细胞保留并加速创伤愈合。与在平板上培养的细胞相比，丝纳米纤维水凝胶中的 BMSCs 更好地保持了干细胞特性，并且在丝浓度更高（2wt%）的水凝胶中，与创伤愈合相关的基因表达显著更高。丝纳米纤维在物理上阻止了 BMSCs 从创伤床沉积部位的迁移。除了更快的伤口愈合外，这些负载 BMSC 的水凝胶还介导了血管生成和炎症，并改善了胶原沉积和毛囊再生在大鼠中的作用。考虑到这些丝纳米纤维水凝胶在这里成功地用作干细胞的载体来加速伤口愈合，可能需要进一步研究用于皮肤再生。
