title: Silk fibroin scaffolds enhance cell commitment of adult rat cardiac progenitor cells.
abstract: The use of three-dimensional (3D) cultures may induce cardiac progenitor cells to synthesize their own extracellular matrix (ECM) and sarcomeric proteins to initiate cardiac differentiation. 3D cultures grown on synthetic scaffolds may favour the implantation and survival of stem cells for cell therapy when pharmacological therapies are not efficient in curing cardiovascular diseases and when organ transplantation remains the only treatment able to rescue the patient's life. Silk fibroin-based scaffolds may be used to increase cell affinity to biomaterials and may be chemically modified to improve cell adhesion. In the present study, porous, partially orientated and electrospun nanometric nets were used. Cardiac progenitor cells isolated from adult rats were seeded by capillarity in the 3D structures and cultured inside inserts for 21 days. Under this condition, the cells expressed a high level of sarcomeric and cardiac proteins and synthesized a great quantity of ECM. In particular, partially orientated scaffolds induced the synthesis of titin, which is a fundamental protein in sarcomere assembly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Felice
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Serradifalco
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rizzuto
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Luca
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rappa
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barone
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Di Marco
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cassata
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Puleio
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering and Industrial Technologies and Biotech Research Centre, University of Trento, Italy.|European Institute of Excellence in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine and INSTM Research Unit, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verin
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering and Industrial Technologies and Biotech Research Centre, University of Trento, Italy.|European Institute of Excellence in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine and INSTM Research Unit, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Motta
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering and Industrial Technologies and Biotech Research Centre, University of Trento, Italy.|European Institute of Excellence in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine and INSTM Research Unit, Trento, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Migliaresi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guercio
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zummo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D012831:Bombyx; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D064211:Connectin / Q000737:chemistry; D004563:Electrochemistry; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D016062:Porosity; D051381:Rats; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012518:Sarcomeres / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D064211:Connectin; D014867:Water; D003094:Collagen; D005349:Fibroins
keywords: Z-bodies; myocardial tissue; natural polymers; progenitor cells; silk fibroin; tissue engineering