In Vitro Investigation of Gelatin/Polycaprolactone Nanofibers in Modulating Human Gingival Mesenchymal Stromal Cells  
[PERSON]  
1 Competence Center for Periodontal Research, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
1 Competence Center for Periodontal Research, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
1 Competence Center for Periodontal Research, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
333342  
deficiencies of gingiva can be caused by numerous etiological factors, including periodontal inflammatory infections, abnormal mechanical forces such as vigorous tooth brushing, occlusal trauma, orthodontic tooth movement, suboptimal dentures, insufficient keratinized tissue, a thin phenotype of gingiva, a buccal malposition of teeth, and an aberrant pull of labial freunlum [1; 2; 3; 4]. In many cases, the lesion is a comprehensive outcome of multi-factors rather than a single stimulus [2; 4]. Among all the soft tissue deficiencies, gingival recession and insufficient keratinized tissue are the most prevalent ailments [5]. The interest in mucoginvival surgery, which is conducted to reconstruct gingival tissue defects, has gained popularity among clinicians and researchers [6]. The ultimate goal of periodontal mucosal therapy is to correct tissue defects, recover the original structure of periodontium, and improve the esthetical tissue profile [7]. Since the conception of mucoginvival surgery was introduced by [PERSON] et al. [8], an increasing number of surgical procedures and tissue grafts have been established [7]. The xenogeneic collagen matrix is considered as a feasible material in the treatment of mucoginvival defects [9; 10]. After undergoing cross-linking for reinforcement, reconstituted porcine-derived collagen is transformed into a new porcine-derived VSCM, commercially known as Fibro-Gide(r), and has recently been introduced for soft tissue regeneration. In vitro and animal studies have demonstrated favorable biocompatibility and the ability of tissue reconstruction using VSCM [10; 11]. In addition, clinical studies have shown promising outcomes in terms of acquiring soft tissue volume and being comparable with subepithelial connective tissue grafts [12]. However, some researchers have argued that the xenogeneic collagen matrix hardly achieves clinical predictability and superiority in tissue volume augmentation [9; 13]. Particularly, collagen-based materials tend to degrade rapidly and have poor biostability and mechanical properties, restricting the clinical application scenarios [14]. Meanwhile, the laborious production process and relatively high cost also hinder its clinical use [15]. In this sense, there are still no ultimate graft materials for periodontal soft tissue reconstruction. Nano/microfiber materials have gained widespread application in recent years due to their ability to emulate the properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM) [16; 17]. Electrospinning, which employs natural proteins or synthetic polymers, serves as a potent technique for creating scaffolds replicating the nanostructures inherent to the biological ECM [1; 18]. Electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) has gained popularity in the application of dental repair [1; 19] and has been proven to support the proliferation of various cell types [20; 21; 22]. Furthermore, clinical research has corroborated the efficacy of PCL in facilitating tissue regeneration [23]. Despite the excellent mechanical properties of PCL, the pronounced hydrophobicity and lack of a biological recognition signal restrict certain clinical applications [24]. To compensate for these shortcomings, PCL is often used in conjunction with natural polymers, such as gelatin (GE). GE investigated for application in tissue regeneration is obtained by partially hydrolyzing the natural collagen [25; 26].