Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications
Neurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), a potent neurotrophin, promotes neuronal survival and axonal regeneration while demonstrating a unique capacity to induce lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons, underscoring its therapeutic potential in neural repair. Despite...
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/7/676 |
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| author | Wenjing Geng Liang Lu Tangmin Li Mingyi Zhou Wei Chen Hao Tan Debin Zhong Guanwang Shen Ping Lin Qingyou Xia Ping Zhao Zhiqing Li |
| author_facet | Wenjing Geng Liang Lu Tangmin Li Mingyi Zhou Wei Chen Hao Tan Debin Zhong Guanwang Shen Ping Lin Qingyou Xia Ping Zhao Zhiqing Li |
| author_sort | Wenjing Geng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), a potent neurotrophin, promotes neuronal survival and axonal regeneration while demonstrating a unique capacity to induce lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons, underscoring its therapeutic potential in neural repair. Despite these advantages, the large-scale production of recombinant human NT-3 with preserved structure integrity and functional bioactivity remains a critical challenge. This study takes advantage of the silk gland bioreactor of silkworms for the recombinant expression of human NT-3 protein on a large scale. Our findings reveal that NT-3 was successfully expressed in the middle silk gland of silkworms and secreted into the silk fibers, achieving a yield of up to 0.5 mg of bioactive NT-3 per gram of cocoon weight. The engineered NT-3-functionalized silk material demonstrates no cytotoxicity and significantly enhanced the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural cells compared to natural silk protein. Importantly, this functionalized material also promotes neurite outgrowth in HT-22 cells. These results collectively underscore the high bioactivity of the recombinant human NT-3 protein produced in the silkworm silk gland. The ongoing fabrication of NT-3-incorporated silk-based materials holds considerable promise for advancing tissue engineering and nerve regeneration applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7765dec9ab7546e8a532a304e511906f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj-art-7765dec9ab7546e8a532a304e511906f2025-08-20T03:35:37ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502025-06-0116767610.3390/insects16070676Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical ApplicationsWenjing Geng0Liang Lu1Tangmin Li2Mingyi Zhou3Wei Chen4Hao Tan5Debin Zhong6Guanwang Shen7Ping Lin8Qingyou Xia9Ping Zhao10Zhiqing Li11Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaCentury Legend Biotechnology Research Institute (Chongqing) Co., Ltd., Chongqing 402160, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaIntegrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & Southwest University, Biological Science Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaNeurotrophic factor 3 (NT-3), a potent neurotrophin, promotes neuronal survival and axonal regeneration while demonstrating a unique capacity to induce lineage-specific differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons, underscoring its therapeutic potential in neural repair. Despite these advantages, the large-scale production of recombinant human NT-3 with preserved structure integrity and functional bioactivity remains a critical challenge. This study takes advantage of the silk gland bioreactor of silkworms for the recombinant expression of human NT-3 protein on a large scale. Our findings reveal that NT-3 was successfully expressed in the middle silk gland of silkworms and secreted into the silk fibers, achieving a yield of up to 0.5 mg of bioactive NT-3 per gram of cocoon weight. The engineered NT-3-functionalized silk material demonstrates no cytotoxicity and significantly enhanced the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural cells compared to natural silk protein. Importantly, this functionalized material also promotes neurite outgrowth in HT-22 cells. These results collectively underscore the high bioactivity of the recombinant human NT-3 protein produced in the silkworm silk gland. The ongoing fabrication of NT-3-incorporated silk-based materials holds considerable promise for advancing tissue engineering and nerve regeneration applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/7/676human neurotrophic factor 3biosynthesissilk materialssilkworm |
| spellingShingle | Wenjing Geng Liang Lu Tangmin Li Mingyi Zhou Wei Chen Hao Tan Debin Zhong Guanwang Shen Ping Lin Qingyou Xia Ping Zhao Zhiqing Li Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications Insects human neurotrophic factor 3 biosynthesis silk materials silkworm |
| title | Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications |
| title_full | Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications |
| title_fullStr | Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications |
| title_short | Biosynthesis of Bioactive Human Neurotrophic Factor 3 in Silkworms and Its Biomedical Applications |
| title_sort | biosynthesis of bioactive human neurotrophic factor 3 in silkworms and its biomedical applications |
| topic | human neurotrophic factor 3 biosynthesis silk materials silkworm |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/7/676 |
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