Electrospinning Device: NF-κB signaling is key to silk fibroin wound healing

Background

Silk fibroin significantly induced fibroblast growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In the wound scratch experiment, the wound scratch area was significantly reduced compared with the control group without SF. This indicates that silk fibroin can promote cell proliferation and migration and accelerate the wound healing process.

Activation of NF-κB signaling pathway

The expression levels of different subunits of the NF-κB gene were higher in silk fibroin-treated cells, and gene enrichment analysis also showed that the expression of genes related to the NF-κB signaling pathway was significantly increased. The NF-κB signaling pathway plays a key role in the wound healing process. Silk fibroin regulates the expression of downstream target genes by activating this pathway, thereby promoting wound healing.

Regulation of target protein expression

Silk fibroin significantly increased the level of VEGF protein, and the expression levels of fibronectin and vimentin were significantly increased in 0.4% SF solution. These target proteins are closely related to cell proliferation, migration and wound healing. Silk fibroin further promotes wound healing by regulating the expression of these target proteins.

In vivo wound healing regulation

In the in vivo study, the silk fibroin treatment group showed smoother skin, reduced scar formation, and significantly higher wound epithelialization than the control group on the 7th day of healing. This indicates that silk fibroin can also effectively promote wound healing and reduce scar formation in vivo.

Application of electrospinning equipment in the preparation of silk fibroin wound dressings

Preparation of nanofiber dressings: Electrospinning equipment can prepare silk fibroin nanofibers with specific structures and properties, which can be used to construct more sophisticated wound dressing structures. For example, silk fibroin nanofibers prepared by electrospinning technology can be compounded with drugs or other bioactive substances to form synergistic composite dressings to improve wound healing effects.

Regulating the microstructure of dressings: Electrospinning technology can accurately control the diameter and morphology of nanofibers by adjusting parameters such as the concentration, viscosity, and electric field strength of the spinning solution. This allows the pore structure and pore size of silk fibroin wound dressings to be precisely regulated, thereby better meeting the needs of wound healing and providing a suitable microenvironment for cell adhesion, growth, and migration.

Loading bioactive substances: Electrospinning equipment can prepare nanofiber dressings loaded with bioactive molecules. For example, growth factors and antibacterial agents that promote wound healing are loaded into silk fibroin nanofibers. By controlling the release rate, the continuous action of bioactive substances at the wound site is achieved, further accelerating the wound healing process.

Summary

In summary, silk fibroin promotes wound healing through various mechanisms, and electrospinning equipment provides strong technical support for its preparation. Through electrospinning technology, silk fibroin nanofiber dressings with specific structures and properties can be prepared, further optimizing the application effect of silk fibroin in wound healing, and providing broad prospects for the development of new wound dressings.

Electrospinning Nanofibers Article Source:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2017.12.006