417
encouraging results in culture studies; the same may be tried as a potential candidate
for corneal transplantation after in vivo studies,” (Krishnan et al. 2012 ).
Collagens of fi sh origin also possess very specifi c properties that arise from their
chemical compositions. Recently, Raabe et al. ( 2010 ) “investigated the effect of
transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), in comparison to hydrolyzed fi sh
collagen, in terms of the chondrogenic differentiation potential of Adipose-derived
stromal cells (ADSCs). Adipose-derived stromal cells are multipotent cells which,
in the presence of appropriate stimuli, can differentiate into various lineages such as
the osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lines. In this study, chondrogenesis
was as effectively induced by hydrolyzed fi sh collagen as it was successfully
induced by TGF-β1. These fi ndings demonstrated that hydrolyzed fi sh collagen
alone has the potential to induce and maintain ADSCs-derived chondrogenesis.
These results support the application of ADSCs in equine veterinary tissue
engineering, especially for cartilage repair,” (Raabe et al. 2010 ).
In contrast to collagens and gelatins of marine origin keratins, with the exception
of keratin-like fi laments from hagfi sh slime, cannot be used as bulk biomaterials.
However, their potential for bioinspiration is defi nitively important. Recently,
Douglas Fudge and co-workers published their work entitled “Hagfi sh slime threads
as a biomimetic model for high performance protein fi bres” (Fudge et al. 2010 ).
There we can fi nd the motivations underpinning their research:
“Textile manufacturing is one of the largest industries in the world, and synthetic fi bres represent two-thirds of the global textile market. Synthetic fi bres are
manufactured from petroleum-based feedstocks, which are becoming increasingly expensive as demand for fi nite petroleum reserves continues to rise. For the
last three decades, spider silks have been held up as a model that could inspire the
production of protein fi bres exhibiting high performance and ecological sustainability. Unfortunately, artifi cial spider silks have yet to fulfi l this promise. Previous
work on the biomechanics of protein fi bres from the slime of hagfi shes [see Sect .
11.2 ] suggests that these fi bres might be a superior biomimetic model to spider
silks. Based on the fact that the proteins within these ‘slime threads’ adopt conformations that are similar to those in spider silks when they are stretched, it was
hypothesized that draw processing of slime threads should yield fi bres that are
comparable to spider dragline silk in their mechanical performance,” (Fudge et al.
2010 ). These authors showed that “draw-processed slime threads are indeed
exceptionally strong and tough. Additionally, post-drawing steps such as annealing,
dehydration and covalent cross-linking can dramatically improve the long-term
dimensional stability of the threads. The data presented in this paper suggest that
hagfi sh slime threads are a model that should be pursued in the quest to produce
fi bres that are ecologically sustainable and economically viable,” (Fudge et al. 2010 ).
“Assuming that it is possible to express large quantities of intermediate fi lament
proteins in cheap expression systems like bacteria, spinning those proteins into
fi bres with useful material properties will also be a challenge, as it has been for
those working on artifi cial spider silks. The fact that intermediate fi lament proteins
self-assemble into 10 nm wide nanofi laments in aqueous solutions may be an
13 Marine Structural Proteins in Biomedicine and Tissue Engineering
encouraging results in culture studies; the same may be tried as a potential candidate
for corneal transplantation after in vivo studies,” (Krishnan et al. 2012 ).
Collagens of fi sh origin also possess very specifi c properties that arise from their
chemical compositions. Recently, Raabe et al. ( 2010 ) “investigated the effect of
transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1), in comparison to hydrolyzed fi sh
collagen, in terms of the chondrogenic differentiation potential of Adipose-derived
stromal cells (ADSCs). Adipose-derived stromal cells are multipotent cells which,
in the presence of appropriate stimuli, can differentiate into various lineages such as
the osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lines. In this study, chondrogenesis
was as effectively induced by hydrolyzed fi sh collagen as it was successfully
induced by TGF-β1. These fi ndings demonstrated that hydrolyzed fi sh collagen
alone has the potential to induce and maintain ADSCs-derived chondrogenesis.
These results support the application of ADSCs in equine veterinary tissue
engineering, especially for cartilage repair,” (Raabe et al. 2010 ).
In contrast to collagens and gelatins of marine origin keratins, with the exception
of keratin-like fi laments from hagfi sh slime, cannot be used as bulk biomaterials.
However, their potential for bioinspiration is defi nitively important. Recently,
Douglas Fudge and co-workers published their work entitled “Hagfi sh slime threads
as a biomimetic model for high performance protein fi bres” (Fudge et al. 2010 ).
There we can fi nd the motivations underpinning their research:
“Textile manufacturing is one of the largest industries in the world, and synthetic fi bres represent two-thirds of the global textile market. Synthetic fi bres are
manufactured from petroleum-based feedstocks, which are becoming increasingly expensive as demand for fi nite petroleum reserves continues to rise. For the
last three decades, spider silks have been held up as a model that could inspire the
production of protein fi bres exhibiting high performance and ecological sustainability. Unfortunately, artifi cial spider silks have yet to fulfi l this promise. Previous
work on the biomechanics of protein fi bres from the slime of hagfi shes [see Sect .
11.2 ] suggests that these fi bres might be a superior biomimetic model to spider
silks. Based on the fact that the proteins within these ‘slime threads’ adopt conformations that are similar to those in spider silks when they are stretched, it was
hypothesized that draw processing of slime threads should yield fi bres that are
comparable to spider dragline silk in their mechanical performance,” (Fudge et al.
2010 ). These authors showed that “draw-processed slime threads are indeed
exceptionally strong and tough. Additionally, post-drawing steps such as annealing,
dehydration and covalent cross-linking can dramatically improve the long-term
dimensional stability of the threads. The data presented in this paper suggest that
hagfi sh slime threads are a model that should be pursued in the quest to produce
fi bres that are ecologically sustainable and economically viable,” (Fudge et al. 2010 ).
“Assuming that it is possible to express large quantities of intermediate fi lament
proteins in cheap expression systems like bacteria, spinning those proteins into
fi bres with useful material properties will also be a challenge, as it has been for
those working on artifi cial spider silks. The fact that intermediate fi lament proteins
self-assemble into 10 nm wide nanofi laments in aqueous solutions may be an
13 Marine Structural Proteins in Biomedicine and Tissue Engineering