title: Aligned natural-synthetic polyblend nanofibers for peripheral nerve regeneration.
abstract: Peripheral nerve regeneration remains a significant clinical challenge to researchers. Progress in the design of tissue engineering scaffolds provides an alternative approach for neural regeneration. In this study aligned silk fibroin (SF) blended poly(L-lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) (P(LLA-CL)) nanofibrous scaffolds were fabricated by electrospinning methods and then reeled into aligned nerve guidance conduits (NGC) to promote nerve regeneration. The aligned SF/P(LLA-CL) NGC was used as a bridge implanted across a 10mm defect in the sciatic nerve of rats and the outcome in terms of of regenerated nerve at 4 and 8 weeks was evaluated by a combination of electrophysiological assessment and histological and immunohistological analysis, as well as electron microscopy. The electrophysiological examination showed that functional recovery of the regenerated nerve in the SF/P(LLA-CL) NGC group was superior to that in the P(LLA-CL) NGC group. The morphological analysis also indicated that the regenerated nerve in the SF/P(LLA-CL) NGC was more mature. All the results demonstrated that the aligned SF/P(LLA-CL) NGC promoted peripheral nerve regeneration significantly better in comparison with the aligned P(LLA-CL) NGC, thus suggesting a potential application in nerve regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, JiaoTong University, Shanghai 200233, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chun-Yang
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Kui-Hua
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Cun-Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Xiu-Mei
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: Hong-Jiang
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.forename: Feng-Feng
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D005349:Fibroins / Q000737:chemistry*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020007:Implants, Experimental; D008297:Male; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000648:ultrastructure; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011091:Polyesters; C550605:poly(lactic acid-co-epsilon-caprolactone); D005349:Fibroins