Silk fibroin/poly(L-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds exert a protective effect following myocardial infarction

• Published in: Experimental and therapeutic medicine 2019-05, Vol.17 (5), p.3989-3998
• Main Authors: Du, Mingjun, Gu, Jianmin, Wang, Juan, Xue, Yizheng, Ma, Yiwen, Mo, Xiumei, Xue, Song
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aneurysms; Biocompatibility; Caprolactone; Cardiac function; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular physiology; Care and treatment; Cell adhesion & migration; Contact angle; Heart; Heart attack; Heart attacks; Heart diseases; Heart failure; Ischemia; Laboratory animals; Lactic acid; Mechanical properties; Morphology; Myocardial ischemia; Organic acids; Permeability; Polymer industry; Polymers; Prevention; Silk; Stem cells; Studies; Tissue engineering
• ISSN: 1792-0981; 1792-1015
• DOI: 10.3892/etm.2019.7405

Electrospinning using biocompatible polymer scaffolds, seeded with or without stem cells, is considered a promising technique for producing fibrous scaffolds with therapeutic possibilities for ischemic heart disease. However, no optimal scaffolds for treating ischemic heart disease have been identified thus far. In the present study, it was evaluated whether electrospun silk fibroin (SF)-blended poly(L-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) [P(LLA-CL)] scaffolds that were seeded with cluster of differentiation 117 (c-kit) bone marrow (BM) cells may serve a protective role in cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction (MI). Mechanical characteristics and cytocompatibility were compared between SF/P(LLA-CL) and P(LLA-CL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds . It was observed that MI led to a significant increase of the c-kit BM cell subpopulation in mice. Magnetic activated cell sorting was performed to harvest the c-kit cell population from the BM of mice following MI. c-kit BM cells were seeded on SF/P(LLA-CL) and P(LLA-CL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds. Results indicated that SF/P(LLA-CL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds were superior to P(LLA-CL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds in improving c-kit BM cell proliferation. Additionally, compared with pure SF/P(LLA-CL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds, SF/P(LLA-CL) scaffolds seeded with c-kit BM cells resulted in lower levels of MI markers and reduced infarct size, leading to greater global heart function improvement . The findings of the present study indicated that SF/P(LLA-CL) electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds seeded with c-kit BM cells exert a protective effect against MI and may be a promising approach for cardiac regeneration after ischemic heart disease.