title: Use of spider silk fibres as an innovative material in a biocompatible artificial nerve conduit.
abstract: Defects of peripheral nerves still represent a challenge for surgical nerve reconstruction. Recent studies concentrated on replacement by artificial nerve conduits from different synthetic or biological materials. In our study, we describe for the first time the use of spider silk fibres as a new material in nerve tissue engineering. Schwann cells (SC) were cultivated on spider silk fibres. Cells adhered quickly on the fibres compared to polydioxanone monofilaments (PDS). SC survival and proliferation was normal in Live/Dead assays. The silk fibres were ensheathed completely with cells. We developed composite nerve grafts of acellularized veins, spider silk fibres and SC diluted in matrigel. These artificial nerve grafts could be cultivated in vitro for one week. Histological analysis showed that the cells were vital and formed distinct columns along the silk fibres. In conclusion, our results show that artificial nerve grafts can be constructed successfully from spider silk, acellularized veins and SC mixed with matrigel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Hand- and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical School Hannover, Podbielskistr. 380, D-30659 Hannover, Germany. allmeling.christina@mh-hannover.de
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allmeling
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jokuszies
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Reimers
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kall
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Vogt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D003470:Culture Media; D004338:Drug Combinations; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000737:chemistry; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009417:Nerve Tissue / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000737:chemistry; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D013112:Spiders; D013997:Time Factors; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003470:Culture Media; D004338:Drug Combinations; D007797:Laminin; D011509:Proteoglycans; D047011:Silk; C059485:matrigel; D003094:Collagen