Hydroxystilbamidine isethionate, a dye capable of binding to both DNA and RNA, has been found to be a powerful inhibitor of cellular ribonucleases. A procedure has been developed that, with the aid of this compound, permits the preparative isolation of giant silk fibroin polyribosomes from the posterior silk gland of Bombyx mori. The polyribosomes contain approximately 45-112 ribosomal particle...

We investigated whether silk fibroin peptide derived from the silkworm, Bombyx mori, could inhibit inflammation and enhance the anti-inflammatory activity of Tat-superoxide dismutase (Tat-SOD), which was previously reported to effectively penetrate various cells and tissues and exert anti-oxidative activity in a mouse model of inflammation. Inflammation was induced by topical treatment of mouse...

We demonstrate controllable structural color based on periodic nanopatterned 2D lattices in pure protein films of silk fibroin. We show here periodic lattices in silk fibroin films with feature sizes of hundreds of nanometers that exhibit different colors as a function of varying lattice spacing. Further, when varying the index of refraction contrast between the nanopatterned lattice and its su...

The fine structure of Bombyx mori silk fibroin was investigated by electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Examination of silk fibers fragmented with ultrasonic radiation and negatively stained revealed the presence of ribbon-like filaments of well-defined lateral dimensions. Analysis of the breadths of the equatorial reflections in the X-ray diffraction pattern of fibroin yielded...

Time-resolved FTIR analysis was used to monitor the conformation transition induced by treating regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin films and solutions with different concentrations of ethanol. The resulting curves showing the kinetics of the transition for both films and fibroin solutions were influenced by the ethanol concentration. In addition, for silk fibroin solutions the protein concent...

There are two microtubule systems in the posterior silk gland cells. One is a radial microtubule system in which the microtubules run radially from the basal to the apical cytoplasm and in which fibroin globules (secretory granules of fibroin) and mitochondria are arranged along these microtubules, thus composing a "canal system" which is assumed to be responsible for the intracellular transpor...

Using purified RNA polymerase II and the cloned fibroin gene of supercoiled form, we found a novel in vitro transcription initiation site. An analysis by S1 nuclease mapping showed that the transcripts synthesized by RNA polymerase II purified from three different sources gave primarily a common protection band, the 5' terminus of which was located at a specific site about the nucleotide positi...

Human adult skeletal muscle has a limited ability to regenerate after injury and therapeutic options for volumetric muscle loss are few. Technologies to enhance regeneration of tissues generally rely upon bioscaffolds to mimic aspects of the tissue extracellular matrix (ECM). In the present study, silk fibroins from four Lepidoptera (silkworm) species engineered into three-dimensional scaffolds...

BACKGROUND Staphylococcus aureus biofilms contribute significantly to the recalcitrant nature of chronic rhinosinusitis. In previous studies, it has been shown that silk fibroin-nano silver solution can eliminate S. aureus biofilms in vitro, which suggests a potential role of this novel agent in the treatment of biofilm-associated diseases, such as sinusitis. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study w...

Silk from Bombyx mori is a protein-based fiber. Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) is one of the most important candidates for biomedical materials based on biocompatibility, biodegradation, processability and excellent mechanical properties. The present study aims at the preparation of silk fibroin for possible applications in tissue engineering. Pure silk fibroin protein was extracted from Bombyx ...