Bioactive fish collagen/polycaprolactone composite nanofibrous scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning for 3D cell culture

•We fabricated a novel electrospun fish collagen/PCL composite nanofiber scaffold.•The diameter of the nanofibers decreased as fish collagen content was increased.•The scaffold promoted the cell adhesion, spreading, protrusions, and proliferation.•The scaffold stimulated the expression of cell adhesion and thymopoietic molecules.•The scaffold offers a potential platform for a wide range of 3D cell culture models. One of the most challenging objectives of 3D cell culture is the development of scaffolding materials with outstanding biocompatibility and favorable mechanical strength. In this study, we fabricated a novel nanofibrous scaffold composed of fish collagen (FC) and polycaprolactone (PCL) blends by using the electrospinning method. Nanofibrous scaffolds were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and it was revealed that the diameter of nanofibers decreased as FC content was increased in the FC/PCL composite nanofibers. The cytocompatibility of the FC/PCL scaffolds was evaluated by SEM, WST-1 assay, confocal microscopy, western blot, and RT-PCR. It was found that the scaffolds not only facilitated the adhesion, spreading, protrusions, and proliferation of thymic epithelial cells (TECs), but also stimulated the expression of genes and proteins involved in cell adhesion and T-cell development. Thus, these results suggest that the FC/PCL composite nanofibrous scaffolds will be a useful model of 3D cell culture for TECs and may have wide applicability in the future for engineering tissues or organs.