Regenerated Silk Fibers Obtained by Straining Flow Spinning for Guiding Axonal Elongation in Primary Cortical Neurons

Abstract

The recovery of injured nervous tissue, one of the main goals for regenerative therapeutic approaches, is often hindered by the limited axonal regeneration ability of the central nervous system (CNS). In this regard, the identification of scaffolds that support the reconstruction of functional neuronal tissues and guide the alignment of regenerating neurons is a major challenge in tissue engineering. Ideally, the usage of such scaffolds would promote and guide the axonal growth, a crucial phase for the restoration of neuronal connections and, consequently, the nerve function. Among the materials proposed as scaffolds for CNS regeneration, silk has been used to exploit its outstanding features as a biomaterial to promote axonal regeneration. In this study, we explore, for the first time, the possibility of using high-performance regenerated silk fibers obtained by straining flow spinning (SFS) to serve as scaffolds for inducing and guiding the axonal growth. It is shown that SFS fibers promote the spontaneous organization of dissociated cortical primary cells into highly interconnected cellular spheroid-like tissue formations. Neuronal projections (i.e., axons) from these cellular spheroids span hundreds of microns along the SFS fibers that act as guides and allow the connection of distant spheroids. In addition, it is also shown that SFS fibers serve as scaffolds for neuronal migration covering short and long distances. As a consequence, the usage of high-performance SFS fibers appears as a promising basis for the development of novel therapies, leading to directed axonal regeneration.