title: Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate strips seeded with regenerative cells are effective promoters of peripheral nerve repair.
abstract: Peripheral nerve injuries are often associated with loss of nerve tissue and require a graft to bridge the gap. Autologous nerve grafts are still the 'gold standard' in reconstructive surgery but have several disadvantages, such as sacrifice of a functional nerve, neuroma formation and loss of sensation at the donor site. Bioengineered grafts represent a promising approach to address this problem. In this study, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) strips were used to bridge a 10 mm rat sciatic nerve gap and their effects on long-term (12 weeks) nerve regeneration were compared. PHB strips were seeded with different cell types, either primary Schwann cells (SCs) or SC-like differentiated adipose-derived stem cells (dASCs) suspended in a fibrin glue matrix. The control group was PHB and fibrin matrix without cells. Functional and morphological properties of the regenerated nerve were assessed using walking track analysis, EMGs, muscle weight ratios and muscle and nerve histology. The animals treated with PHB strips seeded with SCs or dASCs showed significantly better functional ability than the control group. This correlated with less muscle atrophy and greater axon myelination in the cell groups. These findings suggest that the PHB strip seeded with cells provides a beneficial environment for nerve regeneration. Furthermore, dASCs, which are abundant and easily accessible, constitute an attractive cell source for future applications of cell therapy for the clinical repair of traumatic nerve injuries. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.|Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, CHUV, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schaakxs
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Kalbermatten
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pralong
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, CHUV, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Wassim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Raffoul
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.|Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kingham
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006885:Hydroxybutyrates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009132:Muscles / Q000187:drug effects; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D009929:Organ Size; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000091402:Prohibitins; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000187:drug effects; D016138:Walking; D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates
chemical_list: D006885:Hydroxybutyrates; D011091:Polyesters; D000091402:Prohibitins; C000717332:Phb protein, rat; C003182:poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate; D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates
keywords: Schwann cells; biomaterial; muscle; nerve injury; regeneration; stem cells