【SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN December 2019】【MATERIALS SCIENCE】Silky Tissue

        Wild silkworms generate proteins ready for 3-D bioprinting

       野生桑蚕产出的蛋白质用于3D生物打印

        Many research groups are testing “ink” made from silk proteins to print human tissues, implants and perhaps even organs. The process is a less costly alternative to conventional 3-D printing with collagen, a key protein in the body’s natural scaffolding. Re­ searchers in Assam, a state in India, are investigating using local silkworm species for the task—they recently submitted a patent for bioinks using a combination of proteins extracted from local species Antheraea assamensis and Samia ricini, as well as the commonly used Bombyx mori. The scientists have woven them into synthetic structures ranging from blood vessels to liver lobes; in a paper published in September in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, they described mimicking the cartilage of an entire ear.

        大多数研究小组正在测试由丝蛋白制成的‘生物墨水（用于3D生物打印技术的原材料）’来打印人类身体组织，移植物，甚至是身体器官。这个过程相较于传统3D胶原质打印来说只需要更低的价格，而这部分蛋白质正是人体自然支架中的关键部分。印度阿萨姆邦的研究人员调查使用当地蚕种来完成这个任务-最近提交了一个从当地物种的钩翅大蚕蛾和印度蚕中使用蛋白质萃取组合生物原料的专利，而且通常使用的是养殖蚕来完成。科学家将合成物编制合成了血管和肝叶的各种结构，这篇论文发布于9月份的ACS《应用材料与界面》上，论文讲述了整个耳朵软骨的结构与制作。

        Silk is a natural polymer, a substance with long, repeating molecular chains. It is mechanically strong and completely bio- degradable, well suited for applications in tissue engineering. To use it, researchers draw liquid silk from the silkworm’s glands or dissolve silk fibers in solvents. They carefully mix the gelatinous liquid with a patient’s stem cells, then build structures layer by layer with a 3-D printer. After implantation, the cells grow and replace the silken scaffold, which eventually degenerates into amino acids.

        蚕丝是一种天然的高分子聚合物，具备长并且重复分子链的物质。它在物理结构上具备更高强度并且完全可被生物降解，可以完美应用于组织工程学。为了使用它，研究人员从蚕茧腺体中提取丝液或者直接溶解蚕纤维。他们仔细的将胶装液体与病人的干细胞混合，然后用3D打印机一层一层的构建出结构,再移植，随着细胞的生长取代了丝架并最终退化为氨基酸。

        Extracting and purifying collagen from animal remains, a common medical source, is complex and expensive. “Compared with collagen, silks have an immense advantage in terms of supply and processing. Local sourcing is also a clear plus in their use in India,” says David Kaplan, who heads the department of biomedical engineering at Tufts University and is not involved in the new research. Silk from domesticated silkworms has been used widely in bioprinting, but Biman B. Mandal’s laboratory at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in Assam is among the first to incorporate wild silks.

        从动物身体提取和精炼胶原蛋白是一种常见的医疗材料来源，但这种方式复杂且昂贵。美国塔斯夫大学的生物医学工程负责人David Kaplan说道：“相对于胶原蛋白来说，蚕丝在供应和加工方面拥有巨大的优势。在印度本地采购也是一种明显的优势”，但他并未参与这项研究。家养蚕产出的蚕丝已经被广泛用于生物打印，但阿萨姆邦古瓦哈提的印度科学技术机构Biman B. Mandal’s实验室的是最早应用野生蚕丝的机构。

        These silks are ideal candidates for bioinks because they can be combined to build strong and resilient scaffolds, says Mandal, the lab’s principal investigator. “This is important, for example, when making bone tissue,” he adds. Researchers commonly use chemicals to cross-link silk polymer chains, which helps to maintain a 3-D structure, but Mandal’s group found a blend of silks and gelatin that works without many of those chemicals. Also, the wild silk has spots that cells naturally attach to, he says: “For other silks, they have to be decorated with chemicals that promote adherence. This can be complicated, expensive and potentially toxic.” Kaplan agrees, adding that these binding spots allow cells to adhere rapidly to the silk matrix.

        实验室的首席研究员Mandal说道：蚕丝是‘生物墨水’的理想候选者，因为它可以被组合后去构建更强壮更有弹性的框架。这个特点尤为重要，例如当制作骨组织的时候。研究人员们通常使用化学物质去连接丝与高分子聚合物链，来维持一个3D结构，但是 Mandal的团队找到了将蚕丝与凝胶混合组成3D结构的方法，而不用使用大量的化学物质。并且，野生蚕丝有细胞自然附着的斑点，他说，对于没有使用蚕丝的组织来说，他们必须使用化学物质来提高附着力。而这种做法既复杂又昂贵，并且会带来潜在的毒性。Kaplan赞成这个意见，并说道：这些结合点能使细胞更好的附着在丝基质上。
        Mandal and his collaborators have already created prototype structures, including bone and soft tissues such as those of
the heart and liver. Reconstructing a human knee meniscus and the complex tissue at the ends of a bone will be next. —Harini Barath

        Mandal和他的合作者已经创建了结构原型，包含了骨骼和软组织，例如心和肝脏。下一步将会重建人类膝盖的半月面和骨骼末端更加复杂的组织。 —Harini Barath