The mechanical design of spider silks: from fibroin sequence to mechanical function

Gosline, John M.; Guerette, Paul A.; Ortlepp, Christine; Savage, Ken

doi:10.1242/jeb.202.23.3295

Cited by 1,045 publications

(465 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Long repetitive sequences allow intra-and inter-molecular interactions with other proteins and enable the secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures to form through the silk spinning process. As the final silk thread structure contains high electron density areas within areas of noticeably lower densities [209], it is postulated that the former areas, corresponding to a high concentration of β-sheets, promote mechanical strength, while the latter, found in regions with amorphous structures, provide elasticity to the silk fibres [189,210].…”

Section: Structure Of Spider Silk (N Clavipes)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature-Based Biomaterials and Their Application in Biomedicine

et al. 2021

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Natural polymers, based on proteins or polysaccharides, have attracted increasing interest in recent years due to their broad potential uses in biomedicine. The chemical stability, structural versatility, biocompatibility and high availability of these materials lend them to diverse applications in areas such as tissue engineering, drug delivery and wound healing. Biomaterials purified from animal or plant sources have also been engineered to improve their structural properties or promote interactions with surrounding cells and tissues for improved in vivo performance, leading to novel applications as implantable devices, in controlled drug release and as surface coatings. This review describes biomaterials derived from and inspired by natural proteins and polysaccharides and highlights their promise across diverse biomedical fields. We outline current therapeutic applications of these nature-based materials and consider expected future developments in identifying and utilising innovative biomaterials in new biomedical applications.

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Section: Structure Of Spider Silk (N Clavipes)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nature-Based Biomaterials and Their Application in Biomedicine

et al. 2021

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“…approximately 300% on a volume-to-volume comparison [1,4]. In 2010, a new species, Darwin's bark spider (Caerostris darwini), was described [5], which builds the largest known orb webs across ponds and rivers in Madagascar (web area up to 2.8 m 2 and bridgelines up to 25 m) [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dragline silk of C. darwini incorporates a novel MaSp4 (major ampullate spidroin 4) [8] with MaSp1 (major ampullate spidroin 1) and MaSp2 (major ampullate spidroin 2), which are typically found in the dragline silk from other orb-weaving spider species [9][10][11]. cDNA analyses of MA glands of orbweaving spiders reveal that MaSp1 contains glycine (G)-rich tripeptide sequences such as GGX and GXG (where X = glutamine (Q), tyrosine (Y), leucine (L) or arginine (R)), and consecutive [4][5][6][7] polyalanine (A) motifs [12][13][14]. On the other hand, MaSp2 contains proline (P)-rich pentapeptide sequences such as GPGQQ and GPGGX (where X = A, serine (S) or Y) [11,15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation between protein secondary structure and mechanical performance for the ultra-tough dragline silk of Darwin's bark spider

Htut

Alicea-Serrano

Singla

et al. 2021

J. R. Soc. Interface.

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The spider major ampullate (MA) silk exhibits high tensile strength and extensibility and is typically a blend of MaSp1 and MaSp2 proteins with the latter comprising glycine–proline–glycine–glycine-X repeating motifs that promote extensibility and supercontraction. The MA silk from Darwin's bark spider ( Caerostris darwini ) is estimated to be two to three times tougher than the MA silk from other spider species. Previous research suggests that a unique MaSp4 protein incorporates proline into a novel glycine–proline–glycine–proline motif and may explain C. darwini MA silk's extraordinary toughness. However, no direct correlation has been made between the silk's molecular structure and its mechanical properties for C. darwini . Here, we correlate the relative protein secondary structure composition of MA silk from C. darwini and four other spider species with mechanical properties before and after supercontraction to understand the effect of the additional MaSp4 protein. Our results demonstrate that C. darwini MA silk possesses a unique protein composition with a lower ratio of helices (31%) and β-sheets (20%) than other species. Before supercontraction, toughness, modulus and tensile strength correlate with percentages of β-sheets, unordered or random coiled regions and β-turns. However, after supercontraction, only modulus and strain at break correlate with percentages of β-sheets and β-turns. Our study highlights that additional information including crystal size and crystal and chain orientation is necessary to build a complete structure–property correlation model.

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“…Natural spider silk is a well-known high-performance fiber, which is both strong and extensible [16]. It has potential for regenerative purposes based on its original biocompatibility [17] and tolerance, as observed, for example, when implanted in vivo in a swine model [18].…”

Section: Spider Silkmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Vitro Study of Human Immune Responses to Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels, Recombinant Spidroins and Human Neural Progenitor Cells of Relevance to Spinal Cord Injury Repair

Cai

Ekblad‐Nordberg

Michaëlsson

et al. 2021

Cells

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Scaffolds of recombinant spider silk protein (spidroin) and hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel hold promise in combination with cell therapy for spinal cord injury. However, little is known concerning the human immune response to these biomaterials and grafted human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNPCs). Here, we analyzed short- and long-term in vitro activation of immune cells in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) cultured with/without recombinant spidroins, HA hydrogels, and/or allogeneic hNPCs to assess potential host–donor interactions. Viability, proliferation and phenotype of hPBMCs were analyzed using NucleoCounter and flow cytometry. hPBMC viability was confirmed after exposure to the different biomaterials. Short-term (15 h) co-cultures of hPBMCs with spidroins, but not with HA hydrogel, resulted in a significant increase in the proportion of activated CD69+ CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, B cells and NK cells, which likely was caused by residual endotoxins from the Escherichia coli expression system. The observed spidroin-induced hPBMC activation was not altered by hNPCs. It is resource-effective to evaluate human compatibility of novel biomaterials early in development of the production process to, when necessary, make alterations to minimize rejection risk. Here, we present a method to evaluate biomaterials and hPBMC compatibility in conjunction with allogeneic human cells.

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The mechanical design of spider silks: from fibroin sequence to mechanical function

Cited by 1,045 publications

References 22 publications

Nature-Based Biomaterials and Their Application in Biomedicine

Nature-Based Biomaterials and Their Application in Biomedicine

Correlation between protein secondary structure and mechanical performance for the ultra-tough dragline silk of Darwin's bark spider

In Vitro Study of Human Immune Responses to Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels, Recombinant Spidroins and Human Neural Progenitor Cells of Relevance to Spinal Cord Injury Repair

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