Artikel
Spider silk as a bioshield to reduce periprosthetic fibrous capsule formation
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Veröffentlicht: | 10. September 2013 |
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Gliederung
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Though silicone implants have been employed for decades in diverse surgical applications the associated medical complications, such as capsule formation and –contraction have not yet been met. In order to veil the implant surface during the critical phase of foreign body reactions, medical grade silicone implants were homogeneously coated with a thin layer of recombinant spider silk protein and then submitted to in vitro and long-term in vivo biocompatibility assessment. Focusing on specific immunological reactions, more than thirty different parameters were analyzed. Exemplarily, silk coating inhibited fibroblast proliferation, collagen I synthesis and differentiation of monocytes into CD68-postive histiocytes. The coatings significantly reduced capsule thickness, post-operative inflammation, synthesis and re-modeling of extracellular matrix and expression of contracture-mediating factors. These observations give rise to the prospect that major post-operative complications after implantation of alloprosthetics, such as capsular fibrosis and contraction can be reduced considerably by pre-operative silk coating.