Significance
Intramyocardial biomaterial injection is thought to be a potential therapeutic approach to improve cardiac performance after ischemic myocardial infarction. In this study, we report the successful fabrication and in vivo application of an injectable sericin hydrogel for ischemic heart disease. We for the first time show that the injection of in situ forming crosslinked sericin hydrogel promotes heart functional recovery accompanied with reduced inflammatory responses, attenuated apoptosis and increased microvessel density in the infarcted hearts. Further, we reveal that the improvement in those aspects is ascribed to sericin protein's functional bioactivities that are comprehensively uncovered in this study. Thus, we identify sericin, a natural protein, as a biomaterial suitable for myocardial repair and demonstrate that the in vivo application of this injectable sericin hydrogel can be an effective strategy for treating MI.
Statement of significance
Intramyocardial biomaterial injection is thought to be a potential therapeutic approach to improve cardiac performance after ischemic myocardial infarction. In this study, we report the successful fabrication and in vivo application of an injectable sericin hydrogel for ischemic heart disease. We for the first time show that the injection of in situ forming crosslinked sericin hydrogel promotes heart functional recovery accompanied with reduced inflammatory responses, attenuated apoptosis and increased microvessel density in the infarcted hearts. Further, we reveal that the improvement in those aspects is ascribed to sericin protein's functional bioactivities that are comprehensively uncovered in this study. Thus, we identify sericin, a natural protein, as a biomaterial suitable for myocardial repair and demonstrate that the in vivo application of this injectable sericin hydrogel can be an effective strategy for treating MI.