Functionalized core/shell nanofibers for the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells for vascular tissue engineering

Abstract

Aim: Atherosclerosis is a common cardiovascular disease causing medical problems globally leading to coronary artery bypass surgery. The present study is to fabricate core/shell nanofibers to encapsulate VEGF for the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into smooth muscle cells to develop vascular grafts.

Materials & methods: The fabricated core/shell nanofibers contained polycaprolactone/gelatin as the shell, and silk fibroin/VEGF as the core materials.

Results: The results observed that the core/shell nanofibers interact to differentiate MSCs into smooth muscle cells by the expression of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) contractile proteins α-actinin, myosin and F-actin.

Conclusion: The functionalized polycaprolactone/gelatin/silk fibroin/VEGF (250 ng) core/shell nanofibers were fabricated for the controlled release of VEGF in a persistent manner for the differentiation of MSCs into smooth muscle cells for vascular tissue engineering.

Keywords: VEGF; core/shell nanofibers; gelatin; mesenchymal stem cells; myosin; polymers; silk fibroin; smooth muscle cells; vascular tissue engineering; α-actinin.