December 2025 - Sarah Stadlmayr

Sarah Stadlmayr, BSc. MSc. PhD

MedUni Wien RESEARCHER OF THE MONTH December 2025

Peripheral nerve reconstruction through the employment of nerve guidance conduits with Trichonephila silk as a luminal filling has emerged as a preclinical alternative to avoid nerve autografts. Yet, it remains unknown whether the outcome is similar for silk fibers harvested from other spider species. This study for the first time allows an in-depth comparison of the specific cellular response to various native spider silks and a correlation with the fibers’ material properties. The results demonstrate that the increased velocity of Schwann cells on Phidippus regius fibers can be primarily attributed to the interplay between the silk’s primary protein structure and its mechanical properties. Furthermore, the capacity of silk fibers to trigger cells toward a gene expression profile of a myelinating Schwann cell phenotype is shown. This knowledge is essential to open up possibilities for targeted manufacturing of synthetic nervous tissue replacement.

Selected Literature

1. Stadlmayr, S., Peter, K., Millesi, F., Rad, A., Wolf, S., Mero, S., Zehl, M., Mentler, A., Gusenbauer, C., Konnerth, J., Schniepp, H.C., Lichtenegger, H., Naghilou, A., Radtke, C. Comparative Analysis of Various Spider Silks in Regard to Nerve Regeneration: Material Properties and Schwann Cell Response. Advanced Healthcare Materials 13 (2024), doi: 10.1002/adhm.202302968.

2. Selim, O.A., Lakhani, S., Midha, S., Mosahebi, A., Kalaskar, D.M. Three-Dimensional Engineered Peripheral Nerve: Toward a New Era of Patient-Specific Nerve Repair Solutions. Tissue Eng Part B Rev. ;28 (2):295-335 (2022). doi: 10.1089/ten.TEB.2020.0355

3. Semmler, L., Naghilou, A., Millesi, F., Wolf, S., Mann, A., Stadlmayr, S., Mero, S., Ploszczanski, L., Greutter, L., Woehrer, A., Placheta-Györi, E., Vollrath, F., Weiss, T., Radtke, C. Silk-in-Silk Nerve Guidance Conduits Enhance Regeneration in a Rat Sciatic Nerve Injury Model. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 12 (2023). doi: 10.1002/adhm.202203237.

4. Kornfeld, T., Nessler, J., Helmer, C., Hannemann, R., Waldmann, K.H., Peck, C.T., Hoffmann, P., Brandes, G., Vogt, P.M., Radtke, C. Spider silk nerve graft promotes axonal regeneration on long distance nerve defect in a sheep model. Biomaterials, 271, 120692 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.120692
5. Vogt, P.M., Radtke, C., Krezdorn, N., Kollewe, K., Liebsch, C., Dastagir, K., Strauß, S. Biological conduits based on spider silk for reconstruction of extended nerve defects. Innovative Surgical Sciences, 9 (3), 133-142 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1515/iss-2023-0050
6. Stadlmayr, S., Mautner, A., Bacher, M., Peter, K., Mentler, A., Schulz, S., Lichtenegger, H., Brecker, L., Bismarck, A., Radtke, C., Naghilou, A. Holistic Analysis of Material Properties in Phylogenetically Diverse Spider Silk and their Influence on Cell Adhesion. Advanced Functional Materials, 2415945 (2024), https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202415945
7. Peter, K., Stadlmayr, S., Naghilou, A., Ploszczanski, L., Hofmann, M., Riekel, C., Liu, J., Burghammer, M., Gusenbauer, C., Konnerth, J., Schniepp, H.C., Rennhofer, H., Sinn, G., Radtke, C., Lichtenegger, H. Exploring the Unique Properties and Superior Schwann Cell Guiding Abilities of Spider Egg Sac Silk. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 8 (2), 1307-1319 (2025). doi: 10.1021/acsabm.4c01587
8. Naghilou, A., Peter, K., Millesi, F., Stadlmayr, S., Wolf, S., Rad, A., Semmler, L., Supper, P., Ploszczanski, L., Liu, J., Burghammer, M., Riekel, C., Bismarck, A., Backus, EHG., Lichtenegger, H., Radtke, C. Insights into the material properties of dragline spider silk affecting Schwann cell migration. International Journal Biological Macromolecules, 244 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125398