A novel electrospun polylactic acid silkworm fibroin mesh for abdominal wall hernia repair

Xingjie Wang; Changjun Liu; Xuqi Li; Tianli Shen; Jie Lian; Jing Shi; Zhengdong Jiang; Guanglin Qiu; Yuanbo Wang; Er Meng; Guangbing Wei

doi:10.1016/j.mtbio.2023.100915

A novel electrospun polylactic acid silkworm fibroin mesh for abdominal wall hernia repair

Mater Today Bio. 2023 Dec 15:24:100915. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2023.100915. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Authors

Xingjie Wang¹, Changjun Liu², Xuqi Li¹, Tianli Shen¹, Jie Lian³, Jing Shi⁴, Zhengdong Jiang¹, Guanglin Qiu¹, Yuanbo Wang⁵, Er Meng², Guangbing Wei¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.
² School of Life and Health Sciences, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, 411201, Hunan, China.
³ Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.
⁴ Department of Respiratory and Endocrinology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710004, Shaanxi, China.
⁵ Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, China.

Abstract

Objective: Abdominal wall hernias are common abdominal diseases, and effective hernia repair is challenging. In clinical practice, synthetic meshes are widely applied for repairing abdominal wall hernias. However, postoperative complications, such as inflammation and adhesion, are prevalent. Although biological meshes can solve this problem to a certain extent, they face the problems of heterogeneity, rapid degradation rate, ordinary mechanical properties, and high-cost. Here, a novel electrospinning mesh composed of polylactic acid and silk fibroin (PLA-SF) for repairing abdominal wall hernias was manufactured with good physical properties, biocompatibility and low production cost.

Materials and methods: FTIR and EDS were used to demonstrate that the PLA-SF mesh was successfully synthesized. The physicochemical properties of PLA-SF were detected by swelling experiments and in vitro degradation experiments. The water contact angle reflected the hydrophilicity, and the stress‒strain curve reflected the mechanical properties. A rat abdominal wall hernia model was established to observe degradation, adhesion, and inflammation in vivo. In vitro cell mesh culture experiments were used to detect cytocompatibility and search for affected biochemical pathways.

Results: The PLA-SF mesh was successfully synthesized and did not swell or degrade over time in vitro. It had a high hydrophilicity and strength. The PLA-SF mesh significantly reduced abdominal inflammation and inhibited adhesion formation in rat models. The in vitro degradation rate of the PLA-SF mesh was slower than that of tissue remodeling. Coculture experiments suggested that the PLA-SF mesh reduced the expression of inflammatory factors secreted by fibroblasts and promoted fibroblast proliferation through the TGF-β1/Smad pathway.

Conclusion: The PLA-SF mesh had excellent physicochemical properties and biocompatibility, promoted hernia repair of the rat abdominal wall, and reduced postoperative inflammation and adhesion. It is a promising mesh and has potential for clinical application.

Keywords: Adhesion; Biocompatibility; Hernia repair; PLA-SF mesh; TGF-β1/smad pathway.