Preparation of the acellular scaffold of the spinal cord and the study of biocompatibility.
METHODS
Acellular spinal cord was prepared through chemical extraction, and its biocompatibility was studied.


OBJECTIVE
Acellular scaffolds have been developed from various materials for tissue reconstruction, except for spinal cord. The objective of this study was to prepare acellular spinal cord and examine the biocompatibility of the scaffold.


METHODS
This study was conducted at the Department of Orthopedics, Xinqiao Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.


METHODS
The morphology of the acellular segments was revealed by scanning electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and hematoxylin and eosin stain. Biocompatibility was studied by immunohistochemistry.


RESULTS
Results show that in spinal cord scaffolds, cells, myelin sheath and axon of nerve fibers were eliminated, and three-dimensional supports of extracellular matrix were reserved. The component analytical results of the acellular spinal cord indicate that they contain laminin, fibronectin and collagen, which can facilitate and induce the regeneration of injured nerves, and enhance the adhesion and proliferation of cells. The acellular spinal cord has a three-dimensional structure and excellent biocompatibility.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data indicate that acellular spinal cord has certain biological properties and it may be a potential alternative scaffold for spinal cord tissue engineering.
Guo
S-Z
SZ
Department of Orthopedics, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Ren
X-J
XJ
Wu
B
B
Jiang
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000378:metabolism*; D024142:Collagen Type VI / Q000378:metabolism; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism; D007797:Laminin / Q000378:metabolism; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D024142:Collagen Type VI; D005353:Fibronectins; D007797:Laminin