The economic impact of pressure ulcers among patients in intensive care units. A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcers in critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) remain high, despite the wealth of knowledge on appropriate prevention strategies currently available. METHODS: The primary objective of this systematic review was to examine the economic impact of pressure ulcers (PU) among adult intensive care patients. A systematic review was undertaken, and the following databases were searched; Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and The Cochrane Library. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was used to formulate the review. Quality appraisal was undertaken using the Consensus on Health Economic Criteria (CHEC)-list. Data were extracted using a pre-designed extraction tool, and a narrative analysis was undertaken. RESULTS: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Five reported costs associated with the prevention of pressure ulcers and three explored costs of treatment strategies. Four main PU prevention cost items were identified: support surfaces, dressing materials, staff costs, and costs associated with mobilisation. Seven main PU treatment cost items were reported: dressing materials, support surfaces, drugs, surgery, lab tests, imaging, additional stays and nursing care. The overall validities of the studies varied between 37 and 79%, meaning that there is potential for bias within all the included studies. CONCLUSION: There was a significant difference in the cost of PU prevention and treatment strategies between studies. This is problematic as it becomes difficult to accurately evaluate costs from the existing literature, thereby inhibiting the usefulness of the data to inform practice. Given the methodological heterogeneity among studies, future studies in this area are needed and these should use specific methodological guidelines to generate high-quality health economic studies.

Staphylococcal Osteomyelitis: Disease Progression, Treatment Challenges, and Future Directions.

Osteomyelitis is an inflammatory bone disease that is caused by an infecting microorganism and leads to progressive bone destruction and loss. The most common causative species are the usually commensal staphylococci, with Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis responsible for the majority of cases. Staphylococcal infections are becoming an increasing global concern, partially due to the resistance mechanisms developed by staphylococci to evade the host immune system and antibiotic treatment. In addition to the ability of staphylococci to withstand treatment, surgical intervention in an effort to remove necrotic and infected bone further exacerbates patient impairment. Despite the advances in current health care, osteomyelitis is now a major clinical challenge, with recurrent and persistent infections occurring in approximately 40% of patients. This review aims to provide information about staphylococcus-induced bone infection, covering the clinical presentation and diagnosis of osteomyelitis, pathophysiology and complications of osteomyelitis, and future avenues that are being explored to treat osteomyelitis.

Ultrasound-triggered disruption and self-healing of reversibly cross-linked hydrogels for drug delivery and enhanced chemotherapy.

Biological systems are exquisitely sensitive to the location and timing of physiologic cues and drugs. This spatiotemporal sensitivity presents opportunities for developing new therapeutic approaches. Polymer-based delivery systems are used extensively for attaining localized, sustained release of bioactive molecules. However, these devices typically are designed to achieve a constant rate of release. We hypothesized that it would be possible to create digital drug release, which could be accelerated and then switched back off, on demand, by applying ultrasound to disrupt ionically cross-linked hydrogels. We demonstrated that ultrasound does not permanently damage these materials but enables nearly digital release of small molecules, proteins, and condensed oligonucleotides. Parallel in vitro studies demonstrated that the concept of applying temporally short, high-dose "bursts" of drug exposure could be applied to enhance the toxicity of mitoxantrone toward breast cancer cells. We thus used the hydrogel system in vivo to treat xenograft tumors with mitoxantrone, and found that daily ultrasound-stimulated drug release substantially reduced tumor growth compared with sustained drug release alone. This approach of digital drug release likely will be applicable to a broad variety of polymers and bioactive molecules, and is a potentially useful tool for studying how the timing of factor delivery controls cell fate in vivo.

Refilling drug delivery depots through the blood.

Local drug delivery depots have significant clinical utility, but there is currently no noninvasive technique to refill these systems once their payload is exhausted. Inspired by the ability of nanotherapeutics to target specific tissues, we hypothesized that blood-borne drug payloads could be modified to home to and refill hydrogel drug delivery systems. To address this possibility, hydrogels were modified with oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) that provide a target for drug payloads in the form of free alginate strands carrying complementary ODNs. Coupling ODNs to alginate strands led to specific binding to complementary-ODN-carrying alginate gels in vitro and to injected gels in vivo. When coupled to a drug payload, sequence-targeted refilling of a delivery depot consisting of intratumor hydrogels completely abrogated tumor growth. These results suggest a new paradigm for nanotherapeutic drug delivery, and this concept is expected to have applications in refilling drug depots in cancer therapy, wound healing, and drug-eluting vascular grafts and stents.

Macroscale delivery systems for molecular and cellular payloads.

Macroscale drug delivery (MDD) devices are engineered to exert spatiotemporal control over the presentation of a wide range of bioactive agents, including small molecules, proteins and cells. In contrast to systemically delivered drugs, MDD systems act as a depot of drug localized to the treatment site, which can increase drug effectiveness while reducing side effects and confer protection to labile drugs. In this Review, we highlight the key advantages of MDD systems, describe their mechanisms of spatiotemporal control and provide guidelines for the selection of carrier materials. We also discuss the combination of MDD technologies with classic medical devices to create multifunctional MDD devices that improve integration with host tissue, and the use of MDD technology in tissue-engineering strategies to direct cell behaviour. As our ever-expanding knowledge of human biology and disease provides new therapeutic targets that require precise control over their application, the importance of MDD devices in medicine is expected to increase.

The Development of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Using Matrix from iPS-Reprogrammed Fibroblasts.

Tissue engineering solutions have been widely explored for enhanced healing of skin wounds. Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are particularly challenging wounds to heal for a variety of reasons, including aberrant ECM, dysregulation of vascularization, and persistent inflammation. Tissue engineering approaches, such as porous collagen-based scaffolds, have shown promise in replacing the current treatments of surgical debridement and topical treatments. Collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds, which are FDA approved for diabetic foot ulcers, can benefit from further functionalization by incorporation of additional signaling factors or extracellular matrix molecules. One option for this is to incorporate matrix from a rejuvenated cell source, as wounds in younger patients heal more quickly. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) are generated from somatic cells and share many functional similarities with embryonic stem cells (ES), while avoiding the ethical concerns. Fibroblasts differentiated from iPS cells have been shown to enrich their ECM with glycosaminoglycan (GAGs), collagen Type III and fibronectin, to have an increased ECM production, and to be pro-angiogenic. Here we describe a technique to grow matrix from post-iPS fibroblasts, and to develop a scaffold from this matrix, in combination with collagen, with the goal of enhancing wound healing. By activating scaffolds with extracellular matrix (ECM) from fibroblasts derived from an iPS source (post-iPSF), the scaffolds are enriched with beneficial elements like GAGs, collagen type III, fibronectin, and VEGF. We believe these scaffolds can enhance skin regeneration and that the techniques can be modified for other tissue engineering applications.

In vitro cell culture models for ultrasound treatments using collagen-based scaffolds.

Applications involving ultrasound treatment as a therapeutic strategy have gained interest due to its enhanced tissue penetration, broad availability, and minimal invasiveness. Recently, ultrasound treatment has been utilized for applications such as controlled drug delivery, enhanced drug penetration, sonodynamic therapy for generating ROS species, and targeted tissue ablation. However, our ability to study and explore applications is limited by the lack of in vitro models that enable efficient and representative screening of ultrasound-based therapeutic strategies. There is a need for cell culture approaches that mimic the mechanical environment of native tissues, which can prevent uncontrolled cell lysis due to ultrasonic energy. We developed two-dimensional and three-dimensional collagen-based materials for culturing cells in vitro that withstand ultrasound treatment. We hypothesized that the collagen matrix mimics the extracellular matrix and absorb most of the energy from ultrasound treatment - similar to in vivo effects - thereby preventing uncontrolled cell lysis. In this study, we developed a strategy for fabricating both the 2D coatings and 3D hydrogels coatings and tested the viability of the cultured cells post different durations of ultrasound treatment.

Personalized Scaffolds for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Healing Using Extracellular Matrix from Induced Pluripotent Stem-Reprogrammed Patient Cells.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are chronic wounds sustained by pathological fibroblasts and aberrant extracellular matrix (ECM). Porous collagen-based scaffolds (CS) have shown clinical promise for treating DFUs but may benefit from functional enhancements. Our previous work showed fibroblasts differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells are an effective source of new ECM mimicking fetal matrix, which notably promotes scar-free healing. Likewise, functionalizing CS with this rejuvenated ECM showed potential for DFU healing. Here, we demonstrate for the first time an approach to DFU healing using biopsied cells from DFU patients, reprogramming those cells, and functionalizing CS with patient-specific ECM as a personalized acellular tissue engineered scaffold. We took a two-pronged approach: 1) direct ECM blending into scaffold fabrication; and 2) seeding scaffolds with reprogrammed fibroblasts for ECM deposition followed by decellularization. The decellularization approach reduced cell number requirements and maintained naturally deposited ECM proteins. Both approaches showed enhanced ECM deposition from DFU fibroblasts. Decellularized scaffolds additionally enhanced glycosaminoglycan deposition and subsequent vascularization. Finally, reprogrammed ECM scaffolds from patient-matched DFU fibroblasts outperformed those from healthy fibroblasts in several metrics, suggesting ECM is in fact able to redirect resident pathological fibroblasts in DFUs towards healing, and a patient-specific ECM signature may be beneficial.

Versatility of unsaturated polyesters from electrospun macrolactones: RGD immobilization to increase cell attachment.

Poly(globalide) (PGl), an aliphatic polyester derived from unsaturated macrocylic lactone, can be cross-linked during electrospinning and drug-loaded for regenerative medicine applications. However, it lacks intrinsic recognition sites for cell adhesion and proliferation. In order to improve their cell adhesiveness, and therefore their therapeutic potential, we aimed to functionalize electrospun PGl fibers with RGD sequence generating a biomimetic scaffold. First, an amine compound was attached to the surface double bonds of the PGl fibers. Subsequently, the amino groups were coupled with RGD sequences. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the functionalization. The obtained fibers were more hydrophilic, as observed by contact angle analysis, and presented smaller Young's modulus, although similar tensile strength compared with non-functionalized cross-linked fibers. In addition, the functionalization process did not significantly alter fibers morphology, as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, in vitro analysis evidenced the increase in human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSC) adhesion (9.88 times higher DNA content after 1 day of culture) and proliferation (3.57 times higher DNA content after 8 days of culture) compared with non-functionalized non-cross-linked fibers. This is the first report demonstrating the functionalization of PGl fibers with RGD sequence, improving PGl therapeutic potential and further corroborating the use of this highly versatile material toward regenerative medicine applications.

Ultrasound-Enhanced Antibacterial Activity of Polymeric Nanoparticles for Eradicating Bacterial Biofilms.

Bacterial biofilms are a major healthcare concern resulting in refractory conditions such as chronic wounds, implant infections and failure, and multidrug-resistant infections. Aggressive and invasive strategies are employed to cure biofilm infections but are prone to long and expensive treatments, adverse side-effects, and low patient compliance. Recent strategies such as ultrasound-based therapies and antimicrobial nanomaterials have shown some promise in the effective eradication of biofilms. However, maximizing therapeutic effect while minimizing healthy tissue damage is a key challenge that needs to be addressed. Here a combination treatment involving ultrasound and antimicrobial polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) that synergistically eradicate bacterial biofilms is reported. Ultrasound treatment rapidly disrupts biofilms and increases penetration of antimicrobial PNPs thereby enhancing their antimicrobial activity. This results in superior biofilm toxicity, while allowing for a two- to sixfold reduction in both the concentration of PNPs as well as the duration of ultrasound. Furthermore, that this reduction minimizes cytotoxicity toward fibroblast cells, while resulting in a 100- to 1000-fold reduction in bacterial concentration, is demonstrated.

Extracorporeal shockwave-induced expression of lubricin in tendons and septa.

Lubricin, a lubricating glycoprotein that facilitates tendon gliding, is upregulated by mechanical as well as biochemical stimuli, prompting this study of its induction by extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT). The objective of this study was to characterize and quantify the effect of ESWT on lubricin expression in tendons and septa in a rat model. Hindlimbs of six rats were treated with low-dose ESWT and those of another six with high-dose ESWT, using contralateral limbs as controls. After 4 days, resected samples were processed for immunolocalization of lubricin using a purified monoclonal antibody. ESWT was found to increase lubricin expression in both low-dose and high-dose ESWT-treated tendons and also in septa. Lubricin expression generally increased with increasing dose of ESWT. Increased lubricin expression may contribute to the beneficial effects of ESWT in providing pain and symptom relief in musculoskeletal disorders by decreasing erosive wear.

Optimization of extracellular matrix production from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived fibroblasts for scaffold fabrication for application in wound healing.

Extracellular matrix is a key component of all tissues, including skin and it plays a crucial role in the complex events of wound healing. These events are impaired in chronic wounds, with chronic inflammation and infection often present in these non-healing wounds. Many tissue engineering approaches for wound healing provide a scaffold to mimic the native matrix. Fibroblasts derived from iPS cells (iPSF) represent a novel source of matrix rich in pro-regenerative components, which can be used for scaffold fabrication to improve wound healing. However, in vitro production of matrix by cells for scaffold fabrication requires long cell culturing times which increases cost. The aim of this work is to optimize the iPSF matrix production by boosting matrix deposition, without affecting its composition. A good candidate technique to achieve this goal is macromolecular crowding, which is known to promote conversion of procollagen into mature collagen and its accumulation. We tested two molecular crowders, Ficoll and Carrageenan-in combination with ascorbic acid-over a prolonged period of time. Ficoll in combination with ascorbic acid notably increased collagen deposition and matrix dry weight compared to ascorbic acid alone, and did not affect matrix composition as measured by RT-PCR. Interestingly, Carrageenan did not affect collagen quantity, but it significantly increased glycosaminoglycan deposition. Finally, we successfully fabricated scaffolds from harvested matrix and confirmed their ability for cell growth and viability. This work lays the foundation for development of a time and cost effective protocol for novel iPSF ECM production for tissue engineering scaffolds.

Antimicrobial and degradable triazolinedione (TAD) crosslinked polypeptide hydrogels.

Hydrogels are perfectly suited to support cell and tissue growth in advanced tissue engineering applications as well as classical wound treatment scenarios. Ideal hydrogel materials for these applications should be easy to produce, biocompatible, resorbable and antimicrobial. Here we report the fabrication of degradable covalent antimicrobial lysine and tryptophan containing copolypeptide hydrogels, whereby the hydrogel properties can be independently modulated by the copolypeptide monomer ratio and chiral composition. Well-defined statistical copolypeptides comprising different overall molecular weights as well as ratios of l- and d-lysine and tryptophan at ratios of 35 : 15, 70 : 30 and 80 : 20 were obtained by N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerisation and subsequently crosslinked by the selective reaction of bifunctional triazolinedione (TAD) with tryptophan. Real-time rheology was used to monitor the crosslinking reaction recording the fastest increase and overall modulus for copolypeptides with the higher tryptophan ratio. Water uptake of cylindrical hydrogel samples was dependent on crosslinking ratio but found independent of chiral composition, while enzymatic degradation proceeded significantly faster for samples containing more l-amino acids. Antimicrobial activity on a range of hydrogels containing different polypeptide chain lengths, lysine/tryptophan composition and l/d enantiomers was tested against reference laboratory strains of Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli; ATCC25922) and Gram-positive, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus; ATCC25923). log reductions of 2.8-3.4 were recorded for the most potent hydrogels. In vitro leachable cytotoxicity tests confirmed non-cytotoxicity as per ISO guidelines.

Correction: Development of wound healing scaffolds with precisely-triggered sequential release of therapeutic nanoparticles.

Correction for 'Development of wound healing scaffolds with precisely-triggered sequential release of therapeutic nanoparticles' by Tauseef Ahmad et al., Biomater. Sci., 2020, DOI: 10.1039/d0bm01277g.

Development of wound healing scaffolds with precisely-triggered sequential release of therapeutic nanoparticles.

Natural bioactive cue profiles are generally transient with cues switching on/off to coordinate successful outcomes. Dysregulation of these sequences typically leads to disease. Successful wound healing, for example, should progress sequentially through hemostasis, inflammation, granulation tissue formation, and maturation. Chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, suffer from uncoordinated signaling, and arrest and cycle between the inflammation and granulation stages. Traditionally, therapeutic delivery in tissue engineering has focused on sustaining delivery of key signaling factors; however, temporal and sequential delivery have increasingly come into focus. To fully take advantage of these signaling systems, a scaffold or matrix material that can house the delivery system is desirable. In this work, we functionalized a collagen-based scaffold - which has proven regenerative potential in wounds - with on-demand delivery of nanoparticles. Building on our previous work with ultrasound-responsive alginate that shows near-zero baseline release and a rapid release in response to an ultrasound trigger, we developed two novel scaffolds. In the first version, homogeneously-distributed microparticles of alginate were incorporated within the collagen-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) scaffold; ultrasound-triggered release of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) loaded gold nanoparticles was demonstrated; and their maintained bioactivity confirmed. In the second version, pockets of alginate that can be individually loaded and triggered with ultrasound, were incorporated. The ability to sequentially release multiple therapeutics within these scaffolds using ultrasound was successfully confirmed. These platforms offer a precise and versatile way to deliver therapeutic nanoparticles within a proven regenerative template, and can be used to deliver and probe timed therapeutic delivery in wound healing and other tissue engineering applications.

The lubricating effect of iPS-reprogrammed fibroblasts on collagen-GAG scaffolds for cartilage repair applications.

Tissue engineering products, like collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds, have been successfully applied to chondrogenic defects. Inducible Pluripotent Stem cell (iPS) technology allows reprograming of somatic cells into an embryonic-like state, allowing for redifferentiation. We postulated that a fibroblast cell line (BJ cells - 'pre-iPSF') cycled through iPS reprogramming and redifferentiated into fibroblasts (post-iPSF) could lubricate collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds; fibroblasts are known to produce lubricating molecules (e.g., lubricin) in the synovium. Herein, we quantified the coefficient of friction (CoF) of collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds seeded with post-iPSF; tested whether cell-free scaffolds made of post-iPSF derived extracellular matrix had reduced friction vs. pre-iPSF; and assessed lubricin quantity as a possible protein responsible for lubrication. Post-iPSF seeded CG had 6- to 10-fold lower CoF versus pre-iPSF. Scaffolds consisting of a collagen and pre-/post-iPSF extracellular matrix blend outperformed these cell-seeded scaffolds (~5-fold lower CoF), yielding excellent CoF values close to synovial fluid. Staining revealed an increased presence of lubricin within post-iPSF scaffolds (confirmed by western blotting) and on the surface of iPSF-seeded collagen-glycosaminoglycan scaffolds. Interestingly, when primary cells from patient biopsy-derived fibroblasts were used, iPS reprogramming did not further reduce the already low CoF of these cells and no lubricin expression was found. We conclude that iPS reprogramming activates lubricating properties in iPS-derived cells in a source cell-specific manner. Additionally, lubricin appears to play a lubricating role, yet other proteins also contribute to lubrication. This work constitutes an important step for understanding post-iPSF lubrication of scaffolds and its potential for cartilage tissue engineering.

Synthesis of bilayer films from regenerated cellulose nanofibers and poly(globalide) for skin tissue engineering applications.

Commercial cell-based skin regenerative products are highly expensive, carry the risk of rejection and require a long cell culture period to manufacture. This work describes the synthesis of bilayer films from poly(globalide) (PGl) and regenerated cellulose nanofibers (rCNFs) and their use as a cell-free scaffold to support keratinocyte attachment and proliferation. The method is simple, eco-friendly (as the cellulose precursor is obtained from agricultural waste) and of low cost. The rCNFs were produced by acid hydrolysis and PGl was obtained via enzymatic ring-opening polymerization. The bilayer films were synthesized by layer-by-layer casting at ambient temperature. All the films showed a well-defined interface between PGl and cellulose. The produced rCNF/PGl bilayer films showed cell metabolic activity far superior in comparison with pristine PGl regarding the keratinocyte growth, which illustrates the potential use of these materials in skin tissue engineering.

Therapeutics on the clock: Circadian medicine in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.

The circadian clock is a collection of endogenous oscillators with a periodicity of ~ 24 h. Recently, our understanding of circadian rhythms and their regulation at genomic and physiologic scales has grown significantly. Knowledge of the circadian influence on biological processes has provided new possibilities for novel pharmacological strategies. Directly targeting the biological clock or its downstream targets, and/or using timing as a variable in drug therapy are now important pharmacological considerations. The circadian machinery mediates many aspects of the inflammatory response and, reciprocally, an inflammatory environment can disrupt circadian rhythms. Therefore, intense interest exists in leveraging circadian biology as a means to treat chronic inflammatory diseases such as sepsis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and cardiovascular disease, which all display some type of circadian signature. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the crosstalk between circadian rhythms, inflammatory diseases, and their pharmacological treatment. Evidence suggests that carefully rationalized application of chronotherapy strategies - alone or in combination with small molecule modulators of circadian clock components - can improve efficacy and reduce toxicity, thus warranting further investigation and use.

The Use of Genipin as an Effective, Biocompatible, Anti-Inflammatory Cross-Linking Method for Nerve Guidance Conduits.

A number of natural polymer biomaterial-based nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) are developed to facilitate repair of peripheral nerve injuries. Cross-linking ensures mechanical integrity and desired degradation properties of the NGCs; however, common methods such as formaldehyde are associated with cellular toxicity. Hence, there is an unmet clinical need for alternative nontoxic cross-linking agents. In this study, collagen-based NGCs with a collagen/chondroitin sulfate luminal filler are used to study the effect of cross-linking on mechanical and structural properties, degradation, biocompatibility, and immunological response. A simplified manufacturing method of genipin cross-linking is developed, by incorporating genipin into solution prior to freeze-drying the NGCs. This leads to successful cross-linking as demonstrated by higher cross-linking degree and similar tensile strength of genipin cross-linked conduits compared to formaldehyde cross-linked conduits. Genipin cross-linking also preserves NGC macro and microstructure as observed through scanning electron microscopy and spectral analysis. Most importantly, in vitro cell studies show that genipin, unlike the formaldehyde cross-linked conduits, supports the viability of Schwann cells. Moreover, genipin cross-linked conduits direct macrophages away from a pro-inflammatory and toward a pro-repair state. Overall, genipin is demonstrated to be an effective, safe, biocompatible, and anti-inflammatory alternative to formaldehyde for cross-linking clinical grade NGCs.

Scaffolds Functionalized with Matrix from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Fibroblasts for Diabetic Wound Healing.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are chronic wounds, with 20% of cases resulting in amputation, despite intervention. A recently approved tissue engineering product-a cell-free collagen-glycosaminoglycan (GAG) scaffold-demonstrates 50% success, motivating its functionalization with extracellular matrix (ECM). Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology reprograms somatic cells into an embryonic-like state. Recent findings describe how iPSCs-derived fibroblasts ("post-iPSF") are proangiogenic, produce more ECM than their somatic precursors ("pre-iPSF"), and their ECM has characteristics of foetal ECM (a wound regeneration advantage, as fetuses heal scar-free). ECM production is 45% higher from post-iPSF and has favorable components (e.g., Collagen I and III, and fibronectin). Herein, a freeze-dried scaffold using ECM grown by post-iPSF cells (Post-iPSF Coll) is developed and tested vs precursors ECM-activated scaffolds (Pre-iPSF Coll). When seeded with healthy or DFU fibroblasts, both ECM-derived scaffolds have more diverse ECM and more robust immune responses to cues. Post-iPSF-Coll had higher GAG, higher cell content, higher Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) in DFUs, and higher Interleukin-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) vs. pre-iPSF Coll. This work constitutes the first step in exploiting ECM from iPSF for tissue engineering scaffolds.