title: Reknitting the injured spinal cord by self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold.
abstract: In traumatic spinal cord injury, loss of neurological function is due to the inability of damaged axons to regenerate across large, cystic cavities. It has recently been demonstrated that a self-assembled nanofiber scaffold (SAPNS) could repair the injured optical pathway and restore visual function. To demonstrate the possibility of using it to repair spinal cord injury, transplanted neural progenitor cells and Schwann cells were isolated from green fluorescent protein-transgenic rats, cultured within SAPNS, and then transplanted into the transected dorsal column of spinal cord of rats. Here we report the use of SAPNS to bridge the injured spinal cord of rats, demonstrating robust migration of host cells, growth of blood vessels, and axons into the scaffolds, indicating that SAPNS provides a true three-dimensional environment for the migration of living cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Jiasong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Huanxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Yuanshan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Yu-Xiang
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Wai Man
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Rutledge G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Ellis-Behnke
authors.forename: Kwok-Fai
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: Wutian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D048091:Guided Tissue Regeneration / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D010455:Peptides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides