Use of tissue-engineered nerve grafts consisting of a chitosan/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-based scaffold included with bone marrow mesenchymal cells for bridging 50-mm dog sciatic nerve gaps.
Bone marrow mesenchymal cells (MSCs) have attracted increasing research interest due to their possible use as support cells for nerve tissue-engineering approaches. We developed a novel design of tissue-engineered nerve grafts consisting of a chitosan/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based neural scaffold included with autologous MSCs. The graft was used as an alternative to nerve autografts for bridging 50-mm-long gaps in dog sciatic nerve, and the repair outcome at 6 months after nerve grafting was evaluated by a combination of electrophysiological assessment, FluoroGold retrograde tracing, and histological investigation to regenerated nerve tissue and reinnervated target muscle. The experimental results indicated that introduction of autologous MSCs to the chitosan/PLGA-based neural scaffold promoted sciatic nerve regeneration and functional recovery, demonstrating significant efficacy that was, to a certain degree, close to that by nerve autografting, a gold standard for treating large peripheral nerve gaps, and better than that by grafting with the chitosan/PLGA-based scaffold alone.
Ding
Fei
F
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, P. R. China.
Wu
Jian
J
Yang
Yumin
Y
Hu
Wen
W
Zhu
Qi
Q
Tang
Xin
X
Liu
Jie
J
Gu
Xiaosong
X
D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D004285:Dogs; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D008853:Microscopy; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D048271:Chitosan