title: Electrospun SF/PLCL nanofibrous membrane: a potential scaffold for retinal progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation.
abstract: Biocompatible polymer scaffolds are promising as potential carriers for the delivery of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) in cell replacement therapy for the repair of damaged or diseased retinas. The primary goal of the present study was to investigate the effects of blended electrospun nanofibrous membranes of silk fibroin (SF) and poly(L-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) (PLCL), a novel scaffold, on the biological behaviour of RPCs in vitro. To assess the cell-scaffold interaction, RPCs were cultured on SF/PLCL scaffolds for indicated durations. Our data revealed that all the SF/PLCL scaffolds were thoroughly cytocompatible, and the SF:PLCL (1:1) scaffolds yielded the best RPC growth. The in vitro proliferation assays showed that RPCs proliferated more quickly on the SF:PLCL (1:1) than on the other scaffolds and the control. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunocytochemistry analyses demonstrated that RPCs grown on the SF:PLCL (1:1) scaffolds preferentially differentiated toward retinal neurons, including, most interestingly, photoreceptors. In summary, we demonstrated that the SF:PLCL (1:1) scaffolds can not only markedly promote RPC proliferation with cytocompatibility for RPC growth but also robustly enhance RPCs' differentiation toward specific retinal neurons of interest in vitro, suggesting that SF:PLCL (1:1) scaffolds may have potential applications in retinal cell replacement therapy in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Junzhao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qinke
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bingqiao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mengyu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, College of Chemistry &Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, College of Chemistry &Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiumei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wodong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xianqun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200011, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000502:physiology*; D064987:Cell- and Tissue-Based Therapy; D005349:Fibroins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008566:Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D057139:Nanofibers; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000166:cytology*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000378:metabolism*; D011108:Polymers / Q000494:pharmacology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; C550605:poly(lactic acid-co-epsilon-caprolactone); D005349:Fibroins