Silk fibroin scaffolds seeded with stem cells for repair of tunica albuginea defect in rabbits / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of silk fibroin scaffolds seeded with adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) in remodeling fiber for tunica albuginea defect in rabbits.Methods Fifty-six New Zealand rabbits were divided into 4 groups according to the random number table after a defect was created in the tunica albugineaGroup A (the defect was repaired with silk fibroin),Group B (with silk fibroin seeded with ADMSCs),Group C (with autologous tunica vaginalis) and Group D (left unrepaired),with 14 rabbits per group.Tunica albuginea sections were obtained for HE staining,Sirius red staining,Hart staining and immunofluorescence staining of macrophages at 6 and 12 weeks after surgery.Results At 12 weeks after surgery,HE staining revealed chaotically distributed new fiber ingrowth in Group D and orderly ingrowth in Groups A,B,and C.At 12 weeks after surgery,Sirius red staining revealed mean area of type Ⅰ collagen fibers was greater than that of type Ⅲ in Groups A (98 780 ±4 190 vs 51 177 ±5 464),B(94 855 ±9 010 vs 50 815 ±3 895),and C(99 860 ±6 015 vs 50 948 ± 6 595),but the difference in area of collagen fiber of the same type was insignificant among the three Groups.Moreover,less type Ⅰ collagen fibers (79 386 ±2 237) and more type Ⅲ collagen fibers (85 278 ± 2 645) were observed in Group D compared with other three Groups (P ＜ 0.01).At 12 weeks after surgery,Hart staining showed the mean area of elastic fibers in Groups A,B,C,and D was 2 805 ± 90,2 849 ±84,3 068 ±485,and 1 961 ±96 respectively.There was no statistical difference between Groups B and C,but less amount of fibers was observed in Group A (P ＜ 0.01) and least amount was observed in Group D (P ＜0.01).At 6 weeks after surgery,the number of infiltrating macrophages in Groups A,B,C and D was 4.10 ± 0.87,3.80 ± 0.78,3.70 ± 0.94,and 6.80 ± 1.63 respectively.There was no statistical difference in the number of macrophage infiltration among Groups A,B and C,but all were lower than that in Group D (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Silk fibroin seeded with ADMSCs is comparable to autologous grafts for repair of tunica albuginea defect in rabbits.