Proteomic Analysis of Silk Fibroin Reveals Diverse Biological Function of Different Degumming Processing From Different Origin

Yaling Wang; Yunyun Liang; Jiacen Huang; Yisheng Gao; Zhixin Xu; Xuejun Ni; Yumin Yang; Xiaoming Yang; Yahong Zhao

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2021.777320

Proteomic Analysis of Silk Fibroin Reveals Diverse Biological Function of Different Degumming Processing From Different Origin

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2022 Feb 7:9:777320. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.777320. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yaling Wang^{1

2}, Yunyun Liang¹, Jiacen Huang³, Yisheng Gao¹, Zhixin Xu¹, Xuejun Ni⁴, Yumin Yang¹, Xiaoming Yang^{1

3}, Yahong Zhao^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, NMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Tissue Engineering Technology Products, Nantong University, Nantong, China.
² School of Pharmacy, Nantong University, Nantong, China.
³ School of Public Health, Nantong University, Nantong, China.
⁴ Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong University, Nantong, China.

Abstract

Silk, as a kind of natural fibrin, has been prepared into various biomaterials due to its excellent biocompatibility and mechanicalness. However, there are some controversies on the biocompatibility of silk fibroin (SF), especially when it coexists with sericin. In this study, two kinds of silk from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were degummed with two concentrations of Na₂CO₃ solution, respectively, to obtain four kinds of silk fibroin. The effects of different degumming treatments on silk fibroin properties were analyzed by means of color reaction, apparent viscosity measurement, and transmission electron microscope and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification analyses, and the effects of different silk fibroin membranes on the growth of Schwann cells were evaluated. The results showed that the natural silk from Zhejiang treated with 0.05% Na₂CO₃ solution had a fuller structure, higher apparent viscosity, and better protein composition. While SF obtained by degumming with 0.5% Na₂CO₃ solution was more beneficial to cell adhesion and proliferation due to the thorough removal of sericin. This study may provide important theoretical and experimental bases for the selection of biomaterials for fabricating artificial nerve grafts.

Keywords: degum; proteomic; silk; silk fibroin; silk sericin.