A transparent artificial dura mater made of silk fibroin as an inhibitor of inflammation in craniotomized rats.

Object. To improve the safety of dura repair in neurosurgical procedures, a new dural material derived from silk fibroin was evaluated in a rat model with a dura mater injury. Methods. The authors prepared new, transparent, artificial dura mater material using silk fibroin from the silkworm, Bombyx mori. The cytotoxic and antiinflammatory effects of the artificial dura mater were examined in vitro and in vivo by histological examination, western blotting, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses. Results. The novel artificial dura mater was not cytotoxic. However, it efficiently reduced cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase expression as well as the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage did not occur after repair of the brain of craniotomized rats with the artificial dura mater material. Conclusions. The new artificial dura mater described in this study appears to be safe for application in neurosurgical procedures and can efficiently inhibit inflammation without side effects or CSF leakage. Although the long-term effects of this artificial dura mater material need to be validated in larger animals, the results from this study indicate that it is suitable for application in neurosurgery. (DOI: 10.3171/2010.9.JNS091764)