Hydrogel-based nanocomposites and mesenchymal stem cells: a promising synergistic strategy for neurodegenerative disorders therapy.
Hydrogel-based materials are widely employed in the biomedical field. With regard to central nervous system (CNS) neurodegenerative disorders, the design of injectable nanocomposite hydrogels for in situ drug or cell release represents an interesting and minimally invasive solution that might play a key role in the development of successful treatments. In particular, biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogels can be designed as specific injectable tools and loaded with nanoparticles (NPs), to improve and to tailor their viscoelastic properties upon injection and release profile. An intriguing application is hydrogel loading with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that are a very promising therapeutic tool for neurodegenerative or traumatic disorders of the CNS. This multidisciplinary review will focus on the basic concepts to design acellular and cell-loaded materials with specific and tunable rheological and functional properties. The use of hydrogel-based nanocomposites and mesenchymal stem cells as a synergistic strategy for nervous tissue applications will be then discussed.
IRCCS-"Mario Negri" Institute for Pharmacological Research, Via La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Diego
D
Albani
Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council of Italy, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Antonio
A
Gloria
Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "G. Natta," Politecnico of Milan and INSTM Consortium Research Unit, 20131 Milan, Italy.
Carmen
C
Giordano
IRCCS-"Mario Negri" Institute for Pharmacological Research, Via La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Serena
S
Rodilossi
Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council of Italy, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Teresa
T
Russo
Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council of Italy, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Ugo
U
D'Amora
Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "G. Natta," Politecnico of Milan and INSTM Consortium Research Unit, 20131 Milan, Italy.
Marta
M
Tunesi
Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "G. Natta," Politecnico of Milan and INSTM Consortium Research Unit, 20131 Milan, Italy.
Alberto
A
Cigada
Institute of Composite and Biomedical Materials, National Research Council of Italy, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy.
Luigi
L
Ambrosio
IRCCS-"Mario Negri" Institute for Pharmacological Research, Via La Masa 19, 20156 Milan, Italy.
Gianluigi
G
Forloni
D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D004548:Elasticity; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020100:Hydrogels