title: In vitro characterization of a nanostructured fibrin agarose bio-artificial nerve substitute.
abstract: Neural tissue engineering is focused on the design of novel biocompatible substitutes to repair peripheral nerve injuries. In this paper we describe a nanostructured fibrin-agarose bioartificial nerve substitute (NFABNS), based on nanostructured fibrin-agarose hydrogels (FAHs) with human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (HADMSCs). These NFABNSs were mechanically characterized and HADMSCs behaviour was evaluated using histological and ultrastructural techniques. Mechanical characterization showed that the NFABNSs were resistant, flexible and elastic, with a high deformation capability. Histological analyses carried out in vitro during 16 days revealed that the number of HADMSCs decreased over time, with a significant increase after 16 days. HADMSCs formed cell clusters and degraded the surrounding scaffold during this time; additionally, HADMSCs showed active cell proliferation and cytoskeletal remodelling, with a progressive synthesis of extracellular matrix molecules. Finally, this study demonstrated that it is possible to generate biologically active and mechanically stable tissue-like substitutes with specific dimensions, based on the use of HADMSCs, FAHs and a nanostructure technique. However, in vivo analyses are needed to demonstrate their potential usefulness in peripheral nerve repair. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs. GRANADA, Spain.|Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium.|Doctorate Programmes in Clinical Medicine and Public Health, University of Granada Spain, Health Sciences, Doctoral School of Life Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carriel
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs. GRANADA, Spain.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scionti
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs. GRANADA, Spain.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Roda
authors.affiliation: Histocell, S.L., Science and Technology, Derio, Vizcaya, Spain.
authors.forename: Begoña
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cornelissen
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs. GRANADA, Spain.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Garzón
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology, Tissue Engineering Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada and Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria, Ibs. GRANADA, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alaminos
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D049329:Nanostructures; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000628:therapy; D010525:Peripheral Nerves; D012685:Sepharose / Q000737:chemistry*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012685:Sepharose
keywords: adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells; biomimetic nerve substitute; cell-biomaterial interactions; extracellular matrix; fibrin-agarose hydrogels; nanostructured biomaterials; neural tissue engineering