Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Macrophage responses to silk.

Bruce Panilaitis1, Gregory H Altman, Jingsong Chen

  • 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Bioengineering Center, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts, MA 02155, USA.

Biomaterials
|August 5, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Silk Fibroin Microneedles for Transdermal Vaccine Delivery.

ACS biomaterials science & engineering·2021
Same author

Cell-tethered ligands modulate bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

Advanced functional materials·2014
Same author

Multifunctional spider silk polymers for gene delivery to human mesenchymal stem cells.

Journal of biomedical materials research. Part B, Applied biomaterials·2014
Same author

Arrayed Hollow Channels in Silk-based Scaffolds Provide Functional Outcomes for Engineering Critically-sized Tissue Constructs.

Advanced functional materials·2014
Same author

Highly tunable elastomeric silk biomaterials.

Advanced functional materials·2014
Same author

In vitro evaluation of bi-layer silk fibroin scaffolds for gastrointestinal tissue engineering.

Journal of tissue engineering·2014
Same journal

Oral colon-targeted micro-nano formulation engineered in microfluid for synergistic therapy of inflammatory bowel disease.

Biomaterials·2026
Same journal

Manganese@Gold cluster-coordinated covalent organic frameworks-based artificial metalloenzymes with cascade biocatalysis and amplified systemic stimulation to combat malignant tumor metastasis.

Biomaterials·2026
Same journal

Remodeling TME via feedback-driven photothermal-ferroptosis-immune cascade.

Biomaterials·2026
Same journal

Corrigendum to "Photodynamic therapy produces enhanced efficacy of antitumor immunotherapy by simultaneously inducing intratumoral release of sorafenib" [Biomaterials 2020, 240, 119845].

Biomaterials·2026
Same journal

Mg-integrated octopus-inspired hydrogel dressing enables autonomous adhesion and wound closure for enhanced healing via sequential microenvironment regulation.

Biomaterials·2026
Same journal

Engineering miRNA-223 nanocomplexes via bioorthogonal self-assembly for precision therapy of intervertebral disc degeneration.

Biomaterials·2026
See all related articles

Silk fibers show low inflammatory potential for biomedical uses. While intact fibers are inert, fibroin particles cause inflammation, but sericin proteins do not alone.

Area of Science:

  • Biomaterials Science
  • Immunology
  • Tissue Engineering

Background:

  • Silk fibers possess unique physical properties suitable for tissue engineering scaffolds, especially under high mechanical stress or when slow degradation is needed.
  • Biocompatibility is a critical factor for biomaterial scaffolds, influencing their suitability for medical applications.
  • Assessing the inflammatory response of silk-derived materials is essential for their safe biomedical implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the in vitro inflammatory potential of intact silk fibers and their extracts.
  • To determine the immunological response of macrophage cells to different silk components.
  • To understand the biocompatibility of silk for advanced biomedical applications.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • In vitro culture of RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells.
  • Exposure of macrophages to intact silk fibers and silk extracts (fibroin particles, sericin proteins).
  • Measurement of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) release as an indicator of inflammatory response.

    • Main Results:

    • Intact silk fibers demonstrated immunological inertness in both short- and long-term macrophage cultures.
    • Insoluble fibroin particles significantly induced TNF release, indicating an inflammatory trigger.
    • Soluble sericin proteins did not induce significant macrophage activation independently but showed synergistic effects with lipopolysaccharide.

    Conclusions:

    • Silk fibers exhibit a low level of inflammatory potential, making them promising for biomedical applications.
    • The inflammatory response to silk is dependent on its form, with fibroin particles being more reactive than intact fibers or soluble sericin.
    • Further research into silk's immunological profile supports its potential in tissue engineering and other medical fields.