Characterization of Immunogenicity Associated with the Biocompatibility of Type I Collagen from Tilapia Fish Skin

Jingyi Zhang; Jeevithan Elango; Shujun Wang; Chunyu Hou; Meng Miao; Jia Li; Lixin Na; Wenhui Wu

doi:10.3390/polym14112300

Characterization of Immunogenicity Associated with the Biocompatibility of Type I Collagen from Tilapia Fish Skin

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Jun 6;14(11):2300. doi: 10.3390/polym14112300.

Authors

Jingyi Zhang¹, Jeevithan Elango^{2

3}, Shujun Wang⁴, Chunyu Hou², Meng Miao⁵, Jia Li⁵, Lixin Na¹, Wenhui Wu²

Affiliations

¹ College of Public Health, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China.
² Department of Marine Bio-Pharmacology, College of Food Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
³ Department of Biomaterials Engineering, Faculty of Health Sciences, UCAM-Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia, 30107 Murcia, Spain.
⁴ Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Marine Bio-Industry Technology, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang 222005, China.
⁵ College of Medical Technology, Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences, Shanghai 201318, China.

Abstract

Collagen from fish has been proven to have a low antigenicity that has no difference in the genetic codes compared with mammalian-based collagen. This study was designed to investigate the impact of tilapia skin collagen on immunogenicity and biocompatibility in vivo and in vitro. The structural characteristics of both acid-soluble and pepsin-soluble collagen (ASC and PSC), determined using SDS-PAGE and atomic force microscopy imaging experiments, revealed that the collagen had the basic characteristics of type I collagen (COL-I). The in vitro biocompatibility of the collagens showed good cell proliferation against human foreskin fibroblast (HFF-1) cells. PSC and ASC were considered to be almost non-hemolytic biomaterials with favorable blood compatibility in hemolysis tests. The in vivo antigenicity of the collagen in an ICR mouse model evoked an acceptable specific inflammatory response compared to bovine collagen. The implant's position had developed a complete granulation tissue and the sponge disappeared after 8 weeks. The level of cytokines produced by the COL-I immune response was much lower than bovine collagen, which indicated the appropriate implantable property and biodegradability of the collagens. In conclusion, the tilapia COL-I has a lower immunogenicity with better compatibility than bovine COL-I and is a potential alternative to conventional mammalian collagens in biomedical uses.

Keywords: biocompatibility; immunogenicity; type I collagen.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by project of Shanghai Frontiers Research Center of the Hadal Biosphere, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the grant number of 82173731, the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai under the grant number of 21ZR1427300, and the Scientific research Fund of Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences under the grant number of SSF-22-22-01.