title: Equine model for soft-tissue regeneration.
abstract: Soft-tissue regeneration methods currently yield suboptimal clinical outcomes due to loss of tissue volume and a lack of functional tissue regeneration. Grafted tissues and natural biomaterials often degrade or resorb too quickly, while most synthetic materials do not degrade. In previous research we demonstrated that soft-tissue regeneration can be supported using silk porous biomaterials for at least 18 months in vivo in a rodent model. In the present study, we scaled the system to a survival study using a large animal model and demonstrated the feasibility of these biomaterials for soft-tissue regeneration in adult horses. Both slow and rapidly degrading silk matrices were evaluated in subcutaneous pocket and intramuscular defect depots. We showed that we can effectively employ an equine model over 6 months to simultaneously evaluate many different implants, reducing the number of animals needed. Furthermore, we were able to tailor matrix degradation by varying the initial format of the implanted silk. Finally, we demonstrate ultrasound imaging of implants to be an effective means for tracking tissue regeneration and implant degradation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bellas
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rollins
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fourligas
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Georgakoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Leisk
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mazan
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Thane
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Taeymans
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.affiliation: Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Kirker-Head
mesh_terms: D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006736:Horses; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000293:injuries* / Q000502:physiology*; D012038:Regeneration; D047011:Silk / Q000737:chemistry*; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D047011:Silk
keywords: animal model; in vivo test; mesenchymal stem cell; scaffold; silk