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C01 | Biofabrication of heart substitute tissue based on bioink from spider silk proteins

Heart diseases are a major socioeconomic burden. Despite considerable progress in the prevention and minimization of heart damage, the prevalence of heart insufficiency increases continuously. The aim of this subproject is the reproducible production of hierarchically organized human cardiac substitute tissue using 3D printing technology. For this purpose, hiPSC-derived cardiac cells, spider silk proteins developed during the first funding period, aligned fibers, and perfusable tubular structures will be used. The long-term goal is the treatment of heart diseases.

Prof. Dr. Felix Engel
Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel

Maren Fiedler

Previous academic education: M.Sc. & B.Sc. Life Science Engineering
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Felix Engel
Location: Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Nephropathology
Topic of thesis: Biofabrication of Silk-based Artificial Heart Tissue
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: Stem Cell Culture, Cardiac Differentiation, Bioprinting, Cell & Molecular Analysis

Contact: maren.fiedler@uk-erlangen.de

Xuen J. Ng

Previous academic education: M.Sc. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, B.Sc. Biology
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel
Location: University of Bayreuth, Department of Biomaterials
Topic of thesis: Biofabrication of silk-based Artificial Heart Tissue
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: 3D printing/bioprinting, protein processing, bioink development and characterization, process optimization, 3D cell culture

Contact: xuen.ng@bm.uni-bayreuth.de

2023

Heinritz C, Ng XJ, Scheibel T, Bio‐inspired Protein‐Based and Activatable Adhesion Systems, Advanced Functional Materials doi:10.1002/adfm.202303609  (2023). (A08, C01)

Roshanbinfar K, Kolesnik-Gray M, Angeloni M, Schruefer S, Fiedler M, Schubert DW, Ferrazzi F, Krstic V, Engel FB, Collagen Hydrogel Containing Polyethylenimine-Gold Nanoparticles for Drug Release and Enhanced Beating Properties of Engineered Cardiac Tissues, Adv Healthc Mater doi:10.1002/adhm.202202408  (2023) e2202408. (C01)

Schaefer N, Andrade Mier MS, Sonnleitner D, Murenu N, Ng XJ, Lamberger Z, Buechner M, Trossmann VT, Schubert DW, Scheibel T, Lang G, Rheological and Biological Impact of Printable PCL-Fibers as Reinforcing Fillers in Cell-Laden Spider-Silk Bio-Inks, Small Methods doi:10.1002/smtd.202201717  (2023) e2201717. (A07, C01, C05)

Trossmann VT, Lentz S, Scheibel T, Factors Influencing Properties of Spider Silk Coatings and Their Interactions within a Biological Environment, Journal of Functional Biomaterials 14(8) (2023). (A08, C01)

Trossmann VT, Scheibel T, Design of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins for Cell Type Specific Binding, Adv Healthc Mater 12(9) (2023) e2202660. (C01)

2022

Lentz S, Trossmann VT, Scheibel T, Selective Topography Directed Cell Adhesion on Spider Silk Surfaces, Advanced Materials Interfaces doi:10.1002/admi.202201936  (2022). (C01)

Trossmann VT, Scheibel T, Design of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins for Cell Type Specific Binding, Adv Healthc Mater doi:10.1002/adhm.202202660  (2022) e2202660. (C01)

Neubauer VJ, Hüter F, Wittmann J, Trossmann VT, Kleinschrodt C, Alber-Laukant B, Rieg F, Scheibel T, Flow Simulation and Gradient Printing of Fluorapatite- and Cell-Loaded Recombinant Spider Silk Hydrogels, Biomolecules 12(10) (2022). (C01)

Trossmann VT, Heltmann-Meyer S, Amouei H, Wajant H, Horch RE, Steiner D, Scheibel T, Recombinant Spider Silk Bioinks for Continuous Protein Release by Encapsulated Producer Cells, Biomacromolecules doi:10.1021/acs.biomac.2c00971  (2022). (C01, C04)

Fischer L, Nosratlo M, Hast K, Karakaya E, Strohlein N, Esser T, Gerum RC, Richter S, Engel FB, Detsch R, Fabry B, Thievessen I, Calcium supplementation of bioinks reduces shear stress-induced cell damage during bioprinting, Biofabrication doi:10.1088/1758-5090/ac84af (2022). (A01, B06, C01, C02)

Lentz S, Trossmann VT, Borkner CB, Beyersdorfer V, Rottmar M, Scheibel T, Structure-Property Relationship Based on the Amino Acid Composition of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins for Potential Biomedical Applications, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces doi:10.1021/acsami.2c09590  (2022). (C01)

Lechner A, Trossmann VT, Scheibel T, Impact of Cell Loading of Recombinant Spider Silk Based Bioinks on Gelation and Printability, Macromol Biosci 22(3) (2022) e2100390. (C01)

2021

Sonnleitner D, Sommer C, Scheibel T, Lang G, Approaches to inhibit biofilm formation applying natural and artificial silk-based materials, Mat Sci Eng C-Mater 131 (2021). (A07, C01)

Heltmann-Meyer S, Steiner D, Muller C, Schneidereit D, Friedrich O, Salehi S, Engel FB, Arkudas A, Horch RE, Gelatin methacryloyl is a slow degrading material allowing vascularization and long-term usein vivo, Biomed Mater 16(6) (2021). (B03, B08, C01, C04)

Hesselbarth R, Esser TU, Roshanbinfar K, Schrufer S, Schubert DW, Engel FB, CHIR99021 Promotes hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocyte Proliferation in Engineered 3D Microtissues, Adv Healthc Mater doi:10.1002/adhm.202100926  (2021) e2100926. (C01, A07)

Steiner D, Winkler S, Heltmann-Meyer S, Trossmann V, Fey T, Scheibel T, Horch RE, Arkudas A, Enhanced vascularization andde novotissue formation in hydrogels made of engineered RGD-tagged spider silk proteins in the arteriovenous loop model, Biofabrication doi:10.1088/1758-5090/ac0d9b  (2021). (C01, C04)

Neubauer VJ, Trossmann VT, Jacobi S, Dobl A, Scheibel T, Recombinant Spider Silk Gels Derived from Aqueous-Organic Solvents as Depots for Drugs, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. doi:10.1002/anie.202103147  (2021). (C01)

Neubauer VJ, Dobl A, Scheibel T, Silk-Based Materials for Hard Tissue Engineering, Materials (Basel) 14(3) (2021) 674. (C01)

Esser TU, Trossmann VT, Lentz S, Engel FB, Scheibel T, Designing of spider silk proteins for hiPSC-based cardiac tissue engineering, Mater Today Bio doi:10.1016/j.mtbio.2021.100114  (2021). (C01)

2020

Salehi S, Koeck K, Scheibel T, Spider Silk for Tissue Engineering Applications, Molecules 25(3) (2020) 737. (B03, C01)

Roshanbinfar K, Esser TU, Engel FB, Stem Cells and Their Cardiac Derivatives for Cardiac Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Antioxid. Redox Signaling doi:10.1089/ars.2020.8193  (2020). (C01)

Mertgen AS, Trossmann VT, Guex AG, Maniura-Weber K, Scheibel T, Rottmar M, Multifunctional Biomaterials: Combining Material Modification Strategies for Engineering of Cell-Contacting Surfaces, ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 12(19) (2020) 21342-21367. (C01)

Kumari S, Lang G, DeSimone E, Spengler C, Trossmann VT, Lucker S, Hudel M, Jacobs K, Kramer N, Scheibel T, Data for microbe resistant engineered recombinant spider silk protein based 2D and 3D materials, Data Brief 32 (2020) 106305. (C01, A07)

Kumari S, Lang G, DeSimone E, Spengler C, Trossmann VT, Lucker S, Hudel M, Jacobs K, Kramer N, Scheibel T, Engineered spider silk-based 2D and 3D materials prevent microbial infestation, Mater. Today 41 (2020) 21-33. (C01, A07)

Kramer JPM, Aigner TB, Petzold J, Roshanbinfar K, Scheibel T, Engel FB, Recombinant spider silk protein eADF4(C16)-RGD coatings are suitable for cardiac tissue engineering, Sci. Rep. 10(1) (2020) 8789. (C01)

Herold HM, Dobl A, Wohlrab S, Humenik M, Scheibel T, Designed Spider Silk-Based Drug Carrier for Redox- or pH-Triggered Drug Release, Biomacromolecules 21(12) (2020) 4904-4912. (C01)

Aigner TB, Haynl C, Salehi S, O’Connor A, Scheibel T, Nerve guidance conduit design based on self-rolling tubes, Mater Today Bio 5 (2020) 100042. (C01, B03)

2019

Steiner D, Lang G, Fischer L, Winkler S, Fey T, Greil P, Scheibel T, Horch RE, Arkudas A, Intrinsic Vascularization of Recombinant eADF4(C16) Spider Silk Matrices in the Arteriovenous Loop Model, Tissue Eng Part A 25(21-22) (2019) 1504-1513. (C04, A07, C01, C03)

Saric M, Scheibel T, Engineering of silk proteins for materials applications, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 60 (2019) 213-220. (C01)

Roshanbinfar K, Mohammadi Z, Sheikh-Mahdi Mesgar A, Dehghan MM, Oommen OP, Hilborn J, Engel FB, Carbon nanotube doped pericardial matrix derived electroconductive biohybrid hydrogel for cardiac tissue engineering, Biomater. Sci. 7(9) (2019) 3906-3917. (C01)

Madonna R, Van Laake LW, Botker HE, Davidson SM, De Caterina R, Engel FB, Eschenhagen T, Fernandez-Aviles F, Hausenloy DJ, Hulot JS, Lecour S, Leor J, Menasche P, Pesce M, Perrino C, Prunier F, Van Linthout S, Ytrehus K, Zimmermann WH, Ferdinandy P, Sluijter JPG, ESC Working Group on Cellular Biology of the Heart: position paper for Cardiovascular Research: tissue engineering strategies combined with cell therapies for cardiac repair in ischaemic heart disease and heart failure, Cardiovasc. Res. 115(3) (2019) 488-500. (C01)

Humenik M, Pawar K, Scheibel T, Nanostructured, Self-Assembled Spider Silk Materials for Biomedical Applications, Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 1174 (2019) 187-221. (C01)

Esser TU, Roshanbinfar K, Engel FB, Promoting vascularization for tissue engineering constructs: current strategies focusing on HIF-regulating scaffolds, Expert Opin. Biol. Ther. 19(2) (2019) 105-118. (C01)

2018

Roshanbinfar K, Vogt L, Greber B, Diecke S, Boccaccini AR, Scheibel T, Engel FB, Electroconductive Biohybrid Hydrogel for Enhanced Maturation and Beating Properties of Engineered Cardiac Tissues, Adv. Funct. Mater. 28(42) (2018). (C01)

Engel FB, Funktionale Gewebemodelle: Neue Materialien für die Herzgewebeersatztherapie, connexi – das Konferenzmagazin, connexi Kardiologie Ausgabe 8-2018 The Paideia Group GmbH 8 (2018). (C01)

2022

Felix Engel          3D-bioprinting of functional human cardiac ventricles using a collagen-based bioink IVM_064                Meeting of The International Society for Biofabrication 2022, Montecatini Terme (Italy) on 25-28- September 2022 https://www.biofabrication2022.org/                        C01

Sahar Salehi, K.S. Koeck, Martin Humenik, Thomas Scheibel        Continuous non-crosslinked collagen fibers as building blocks of the musculotendinous junction             MSE congress                   B03, C01, A08

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: Bioproscale, Berlin, 29.03.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: 3DMM2O, Schöntal Monastry, 07.04.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: ASBTE, Melbourne, 20.04.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: ICRI-BioM lecture, 10.06.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: CIMTEC, Perugia 22.06.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: Bioinspired Materials Andermatt, 09.08.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: Monash Biofabrication lecture, 25.08.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: CRC 1459 Summer School Biofabrication, 19.09.2022

Scheibel, Thomas Invited speaker: 3rd International Workshop on Insect Bio-inspired Technologies 18.11.2022

2020

Engel, FB (2020) 3D-Druck von funktionsfähigen Herzen – Wunsch und Wirklichkeit, 29. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Transplantationsgesellschaft, 15 – 17 October 2020 Köln, Germany

Engel, FB (2020) Are 3D-printed hearts the ultimate solution?, 34th Annual Meeting of the “European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery”, 8 – 10 October 2020 – Web conference

Engel, FB (2020) Heart regeneration: hopes and pitfalls, First Digital Conference of the International Giessen Graduate Centre for the Life Sciences (GGL) 29 – 30 September 2020 – Web conference

Trossmann V, Esser T, Döbl A, Petzold J, Aigner T, Engel F, Scheibel  T (2020) Recombinant spider silk proteins for cardiac tissue engineering, 5th Bioinspired Materials 2020 Conference, 16 – 19 March 2020 – Web conference

Engel F (2020) 3D-Druck von funktionsfähigen Herzen- Wunsch und Wirklichkeit, Jahrestagung DGPK/DGTHG, 2. March 2020, Wiesbaden, Germany

Engel F (2020) 3D-Druck von funktionsfähigen Herzen- Wunsch und Wirklichkeit, Wintermeeting der AG17 der DGK, 24. Januar 2020, Düsseldorf

2019

Trossmann V (2019) Rekombinante Spinnenseidenproteine für die Regeneration von Herzgewebe, WerkstoffWoche Dresden; September 18 to 20, 2019 (Dresden, Germany)

Roshanbinfar K, Vogt L, Greber B, Diecke S, Boccaccini AR, Mohammadi Z, Mesgar AS, Dehghan MM, Oommen OP, Scheibel T, Hilborn J, Engel FB (2019) Electroconductive materials enhance maturation of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes in engineered cardiac tissues, TERMIS European Chapter Meeting 2019 27th – 31st May 2019, Rhodes, Greece Tissue Engineering Therapies: From Concept to Clinical Translation & Commercialisation

Scheibel T (2019) Drug delivery vehicles based on engineered spider silk protein, 9th biennial Australian Colloid and Interface Symposium (ACIS) 3 – 7 February 2019 (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)

Trossmann V (2019) Recombinant spider silk proteins for cardiac tissue engineering, 9th biennial Australian Colloid and Interface Symposium (ACIS) 3 – 7 February 2019 (Hobart, Tasmania, Australia)

2018

Engel FB (2018) TRR 225: Biofabrikation von funktionalen Gewebemodellen, Invited speaker at 27. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Transplantationsgesellschaft (DTG 2018), 7-10 November 2018 (Berlin, Germany)

Engel FB (2018) New scaffolds for cardiac repair, Invited presentation at: International Conference on Biofabrication (ISBF) 2018, 28-31 October 2018 (Würzburg, Germany)

Roshanbinfar K (2018) Electroconductive Biohybrid Hydrogel for Enhanced Maturation and Beating Properties of Engineered Cardiac Tissues, Invited presentation at: International Conference on Biofabrication (ISBF) 2018, 28-31 October 2018 (Würzburg, Germany)

Scheibel T (2018) Biopolymer-based materials, Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker e.V. GDCh-Vortrag/Hamburg 25-26 October 2018 (Hamburg, Germany)

Scheibel T (2018) Was Spider-Man besser wissen sollte… Landesamt für Gesundheit 23 October 2018 (Erlangen, Germany)

Scheibel T (2018) Biofabrication with bioinks made of rekombinant spider silk, N.I.C.E. Conference 2018, The 4th International Conference on Bioinspired and Biobased Chemistry & Materials, 14-17 October 2018 (Nice, France)

Scheibel T (2018) Development of spider silk applications, Siemens Healthcare GmbH 1 October 2018 (Kemnath, Germany)

Engel FB (2018) New scaffolds for cardiac repair, ESC Congress 2018 (European Cardiac Society) 25-29 August 2018 (Munich, Germany)

Scheibel T (2018) Engineering, processing and applications of structural proteins, UPAC und Büroeröffnung 1-5 July 2018  (Melbourne Cairns, Australia)

2022

Jessica Faber, Florian Hofmann, Silvia Budday, Tomasz Jüngst    SFB/TRR 225 Project C01: Recombinant spider-silk-based hydrogels for cardiac tissue engineering  Meeting of The International Society for Biofabrication 2022, Montecatini Terme (Italy) on 25-28- September 2022 https://www.biofabrication2022.org/       C01

2020

Trossmann V, Steiner D, Heltmann-Meyer S, Winkler S, Amouei H, Wajant H, Fey T, Greil P, Scheibel T, Arkudas A, Horch RE, Establishment of a fiber-based and RGD-modified spider silk for the generation of a drug-producing tissue container, 5th Bioinspired Materials 2020 Conference, 16 – 19 March 2020 – Web conference

Döbl A, Herold H, Wohlrab S, Humenik M, Scheibel T (2020) Spider Silk-based carrier for controlled redox- and pH-triggered drug release, 5th Bioinspired Materials 2020 Conference, 16 – 19 March 2020 – Web conference

Annika Lechner (Döbl)

Previous academic education: Master-thesis
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel
Location: University of Bayreuth, Chair of Biomaterials
Topic of thesis: Spider silk-based 3D cultivation of tumor cells as in vitro model for cancer research
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: 3D printing/bioprinting, cell culture, protein processing, chemical protein modification

Contact: annika.lechner@bm.uni-bayreuth.de

Vanessa Trossmann

Previous academic education: Master-thesis
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel
Location: University of Bayreuth, Chair of Biomaterials
Topic of thesis: Recombinant spider silk proteins with designed cell-substrate-interaction for biomedical applications
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: Cloning, recombinant protein expression and purification, protein characterization, protein processing (films, bioinks), 3D-Bioprinting, Cell culture

Contact: vanessa.trossmann@bm.uni-bayreuth.de

Tilman Esser

Previous academic education: M.Sc (Cardiovascular Science), B.Sc. (Molecular Medicine), University of Göttingen
Academic Advisor within SFB TRR225: Prof. Dr. Felix Engel
Location: Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Nephropathology
Topic of thesis: Biofabrication of Silk-based Artificial Heart Tissue
Main techniques and methodologies to be used: Stem Cell Culture, Cardiac Differentiation, Bioprinting, Cell & Molecular Analysis

Contact: tilman.esser@uk-erlangen.de

First SFB/TRR 225 PhD student with first authorship

Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheibel

Prof. Dr. Felix Engel

• Nucleus Member of WG 31 “Cardiovascular Regeneration” of the German Society of Cardiology – Cardiovascular Research (DGK) and Member of the DGK
• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease
• Section Editor, IJMS, section “Materials Science
• Speaker of the Muscle Research Center Erlangen, MURCE
• Member of the §15 Animal Welfare Commission of Lower Franconia
• Member of the IZKF Commission for the Promotion and Development of Young Scientists
• Senior Editor, Discoveries Journals
• Member of the ELAN Commission of the University Hospital Erlangen
• Coordinator of the Emerging Field Initiative CYDER
• Member of the Biological-Medical Section of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society
• Member of the Society for Cell Biology
• Member of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology e.V.
• Member of the American Heart Association, Council on Basic Sciences
• Member of the BZKF Lighthouse Preclinical Models
• DGK Speaker for AG31 Cardiovascular Regeneration