title: Functional improvement following implantation of a microstructured, type-I collagen scaffold into experimental injuries of the adult rat spinal cord.
abstract: The formation of cystic cavitation following severe spinal cord injury (SCI) constitutes one of the major barriers to successful axonal regeneration and tissue repair. The development of bioengineered scaffolds that assist in the bridging of such lesion-induced gaps may contribute to the formulation of combination strategies aimed at promoting functional tissue repair. Our previous in vitro investigations have demonstrated the directed axon regeneration and glial migration supporting properties of microstructured collagen scaffold that had been engineered to possess mechanical properties similar to those of spinal cord tissues. Here, the effect of implanting the longitudinally orientated scaffold into unilateral resection injuries (2mm long) of the mid-cervical lateral funiculus of adult rats has been investigated using behavioural and correlative morphological techniques. The resection injuries caused an immediate and long lasting (up to 12 weeks post injury) deficit of food pellet retrieval by the ipsilateral forepaw. Implantation of the orientated collagen scaffold promoted a significant improvement in pellet retrieval by the ipsilateral forepaw at 6 weeks which continued to improve up to 12 weeks post injury. In contrast, implantation of a non-orientated gelatine scaffold did not result in significant functional improvement. Surprisingly, the improved motor performance was not correlated with the regeneration of lesioned axons through the implanted scaffold. This observation supports the notion that biomaterials may support functional recovery by mechanisms other than simple bridging of the lesion site, such as the local sprouting of injured, or even non-injured fibres.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Department of Neurosurgery, Evangelic Hospital Bethel, Bielefeld, Germany; Institute for Neuropathology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: Haktan.Altinova@t-online.de.
authors.forename: Haktan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Altinova
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; RNL Europe GmbH, Kleinmachnow, Germany.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Möllers
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Führmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; Institute for Neuropathology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine (JARA Brain), Germany.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deumens
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Burn Centre, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Institute for Neuropathology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine (JARA Brain), Germany.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bozkurt
authors.affiliation: Matricel GmbH, Herzogenrath, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heschel
authors.affiliation: Matricel GmbH, Herzogenrath, Germany.
authors.forename: Leon H H Olde
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Damink
authors.affiliation: Matricel GmbH, Herzogenrath, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schügner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Neuropathology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine (JARA Brain), Germany.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Institute for Neuropathology, Uniklinik Aachen, Aachen, Germany; Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance - Translational Brain Medicine (JARA Brain), Germany.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Brook
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D048091:Guided Tissue Regeneration; D009043:Motor Activity; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D058630:Spinal Cord Regeneration; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D024042:Collagen Type I
keywords: Biomaterials; Collagen; Functional recovery; Nerve guide; Scaffold; Spinal cord injury