Silk Fibroin and Sericin Differentially Potentiate the Paracrine and Regenerative Functions of Stem Cells Through Multiomics Analysis

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2023-05, Vol.35 (20), p.e2210517-n/a
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yanan, Sheng, Renwang, Chen, Jialin, Wang, Hongmei, Zhu, Yue, Cao, Zhicheng, Zhao, Xinyi, Wang, Zhimei, Liu, Chuanquan, Chen, Zhixuan, Zhang, Po, Kuang, Baian, Zheng, Haotian, Shen, Chuanlai, Yao, Qingqiang, Zhang, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomedical materials; Endothelial cells; Endothelial Cells - chemistry; Endothelial Cells - physiology; Fibroblasts; Fibroins - chemistry; Fibroins - pharmacology; Gene sequencing; Glycolysis; Macrophages; Materials science; Mesenchymal Stem Cells; MSCs; multiomics; paracrine signals; Proteomics - methods; Regeneration (physiology); Sericins - chemistry; Sericins - pharmacology; Silk; Silk fibroin; skin regeneration; Stem cells; Tissue Engineering
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202210517

Silk fibroin (SF) and sericin (SS), the two major proteins of silk, are attractive biomaterials with great potential in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, their biochemical interactions with stem cells remain unclear. In this study, multiomics are employed to obtain a global view of the cellular processes and pathways of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) triggered by SF and SS to discern cell–biomaterial interactions at an in‐depth, high‐throughput molecular level. Integrated RNA sequencing and proteomic analysis confirm that SF and SS initiate widespread but distinct cellular responses and potentiate the paracrine functions of MSCs that regulate extracellular matrix deposition, angiogenesis, and immunomodulation through differentially activating the integrin/PI3K/Akt and glycolysis signaling pathways. These paracrine signals of MSCs stimulated by SF and SS effectively improve skin regeneration by regulating the behavior of multiple resident cells (fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages) in the skin wound microenvironment. Compared to SS, SF exhibits better immunomodulatory effects in vitro and in vivo, indicating its greater potential as a carrier material of MSCs for skin regeneration. This study provides comprehensive and reliable insights into the cellular interactions with SF and SS, enabling the future development of silk‐based therapeutics for tissue engineering and stem cell therapy. Silk fibroin (SF) and sericin (SS), the two major proteins of silk, potentiate the paracrine functions of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by differentially activating the integrin/PI3K/Akt and glycolysis signaling pathways. The SF‐ and SS‐initiated paracrine signals of MSCs modulate the behaviors of multiple resident cells in the skin wound microenvironments and thereby improve skin regeneration with structural and functional recovery.