title: Rat sciatic nerve reconstruction across a 30 mm defect bridged by an oriented porous PHBV tube with Schwann cell as artificial nerve graft.
abstract: An oriented poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) nerve conduit has been used to evaluate its efficiency based on the promotion of peripheral nerve regeneration in rats. The oriented porous micropatterned artificial nerve conduit was designed onto the micropatterned silicon wafers, and then their surfaces were modified with oxygen plasma to increase cell adhesion. The designed conduits were investigated by cell culture analyses with Schwann cells (SCs). The conduits were implanted into a 30 mm gap in sciatic nerves of rats. Four months after surgery, the regenerated nerves were monitored and evaluated by macroscopic assessments and histology and behavioral analyses. Results of cellular analyses showed suitable properties of designed conduit for nerve regeneration. The results demonstrated that in the polymeric graft with SCs, the rat sciatic nerve trunk had been reconstructed with restoration of nerve continuity and formatted nerve fibers with myelination. Histological results demonstrated the presence of Schwann and glial cells in regenerated nerves. Functional recovery such as walking, swimming, and recovery of nociceptive function was illustrated for all the grafts especially conduits with SCs. This study proves the feasibility of the artificial nerve graft filled with SCs for peripheral nerve regeneration by bridging a longer defect in an animal model.
authors.affiliation: From the *Proteomics Research Center, Faculty of Paramedical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; †Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran; ‡Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; §Department of Biomaterials, Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.forename: Esmaeil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Biazar
authors.forename: Saeed Heidari
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Keshel
authors.forename: Abdolaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronaghi
authors.forename: Jafar
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doostmohamadpour
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Janfada
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montazeri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D048091:Guided Tissue Regeneration / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D011091:Polyesters; D016062:Porosity; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012583:Schwann Cells; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C052620:poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyvalerate); D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates