title: Cervical tissue engineering using silk scaffolds and human cervical cells.
abstract: Spontaneous preterm birth is a frequent complication of pregnancy and a common cause of morbidity in childhood. Obstetricians suspect abnormalities of the cervix are implicated in a significant number of preterm births. The cervix is composed of fibrous connective tissue and undergoes significant remodeling in preparation for birth. We hypothesized that a tissue engineering strategy could be used to develop three-dimensional cervical-like tissue constructs that would be suitable for investigating cervical remodeling. Cervical cells were isolated from two premenopausal women undergoing hysterectomy for a benign gynecological condition, and the cells were seeded on porous silk scaffolds in the presence or absence of dynamic culture and with 10% or 20% serum. Morphological, biochemical, and mechanical properties were measured during the 8-week culture period. Cervical cells proliferated in three-dimensions and synthesized an extracellular matrix with biochemical constituents and morphology similar to native tissue. Compared to static culture, dynamic culture was associated with significantly increased collagen deposition (p < 0.05), sulfated glycosaminoglycan synthesis (p < 0.05), and mechanical stiffness (p < 0.05). Serum concentration did not affect measured variables. Relevant human tissue-engineered cervical-like constructs constitute a novel model system for a range of fundamental and applied studies related to cervical remodeling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA. mhouse@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: House
authors.forename: Cristina C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Socrate
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019149:Bioreactors; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D047011:Silk