Instructive proteins for tissue regeneration

Recent Progress in Development of Dressings Used for Diabetic Wounds with Special Emphasis on Scaffolds

Diabetic wound (DW) is a secondary application of uncontrolled diabetes and affects about 42.2% of diabetics. If the disease is left untreated/uncontrolled, then it may further lead to amputation of organs. In recent years, huge research has been done in the area of wound dressing to have a better maintenance of DW. These include gauze, films, foams or, hydrocolloid-based dressings as well as polysaccharide- and polymer-based dressings. In recent years, scaffolds have played major role as biomaterial for wound dressing due to its tissue regeneration properties as well as fluid absorption capacity. These are three-dimensional polymeric structures formed from polymers that help in tissue rejuvenation. These offer a large surface area to volume ratio to allow cell adhesion and exudate absorbing capacity and antibacterial properties. They also offer a better retention as well as sustained release of drugs that are directly impregnated to the scaffolds or the ones that are loaded in nanocarriers that are impregnated onto scaffolds. The present review comprehensively describes the pathogenesis of DW, various dressings that are used so far for DW, the limitation of currently used wound dressings, role of scaffolds in topical delivery of drugs, materials used for scaffold fabrication, and application of various polymer-based scaffolds for treating DW.

Protein–protein interaction network: an emerging tool for understanding fish disease in aquaculture

Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) play integral roles in a wide range of biological processes that regulate the overall growth, development, physiology and disease in living organisms. With the advancement of high‐throughput sequencing technologies, increasing numbers of PPI networks are being predicted and annotated, and these contribute greatly towards the understanding of pathogenesis and the discovery of novel drug targets for the treatment of diseases. The use of this tool is gaining popularity in the identification, understanding and treatment of diseases in humans and plants. Due to the importance of aquaculture in tackling the global food crisis by producing cheap and high‐quality protein source, the maintenance of the overall health status of aquaculture species is essential. With the increasing omics data on aquaculture species, the PPI network is an emerging tool for fish health maintenance. In this review, we first introduce the concept of PPI network, how they are discovered and their general application. Then, the current status of aquaculture and disease in aquaculture are discussed. The different applications of PPI network in aquaculture fish disease management such as biomarker identification, mechanism prediction, understanding of host–pathogen interaction, understanding of pathogen co‐infection interaction, and potential development of vaccines and treatments are subsequently highlighted. It is hoped that this emerging tool – PPI network – would deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of various diseases and hasten the prevention and treatment processes in aquaculture species.

Micro- and Nanopatterned Silk Substrates for Antifouling Applications

A major problem of current biomedical implants is the bacterial colonization and subsequent biofilm formation, which seriously affects their functioning and can lead to serious post-surgical complications. Intensive efforts have been directed toward the development of novel technologies that can prevent bacterial colonization while requiring minimal antibiotics doses. To this end, biocompatible materials with intrinsic antifouling capabilities are in high demand. Silk fibroin, widely employed in biotechnology, represents an interesting candidate. Here, we employ a soft-lithography approach to realize micro- and nanostructured silk fibroin substrates, with different geometries. We show that patterned silk film substrates support mammal cells (HEK-293) adhesion and proliferation, and at the same time, they intrinsically display remarkable antifouling properties. We employ Escherichia coli as representative Gram-negative bacteria, and we observe an up to 66% decrease in the number of bacteria that adhere to patterned silk surfaces as compared to control, flat silk samples. The mechanism leading to the inhibition of biofilm formation critically depends on the microstructure geometry, involving both a steric and a hydrophobic effect. We also couple silk fibroin patterned films to a biocompatible, optically responsive organic semiconductor, and we verify that the antifouling properties are very well preserved. The technology described here is of interest for the next generation of biomedical implants, involving the use of materials with enhanced antibacterial capability, easy processability, high biocompatibility, and prompt availability for coupling with photoimaging and photodetection techniques.