Porous and Nonporous Nerve Conduits: The Effects of a Hydrogel Luminal Filler With and Without a Neurite-Promoting Moiety.
Nerve conduits prefilled with hydrogels are frequently explored in an attempt to promote nerve regeneration. This study examines the interplay in vivo between the porosity of the conduit wall and the level of bioactivity of the hydrogel used to fill the conduit. Nerve regeneration in porous (P) or nonporous (NP) conduits that were filled with either collagen only or collagen enhanced with a covalently attached neurite-promoting peptide mimic of the glycan human natural killer cell antigen-1 (m-HNK) were compared in a 5 mm critical size defect in the mouse femoral nerve repair model. Although collagen is a cell-friendly matrix that does not differentiate between neural and nonneural cells, the m-HNK-enhanced collagen specifically promotes axon growth and appropriate motor neuron targeting. In this study, animals treated with NP conduits filled with collagen grafted with m-HNK (CollagenHNK) had the best overall functional recovery, based on a range of histomorphometric observations and parameters of functional recovery. Our data indicate that under some conditions, the use of generally cell friendly fillers such as collagen may limit nerve regeneration. This finding is significant, considering the frequent use of collagen-based hydrogels as fillers of nerve conduits.
1 New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.|2 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.
Mindy
M
Ezra
1 New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.
Jared
J
Bushman
2 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.
David
D
Shreiber
3 W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.|4 Center for Neuroscience, Shantou University Medical College , Shantou, China .
Melitta
M
Schachner
1 New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.|5 Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.
Joachim
J
Kohn
D000818:Animals; D018959:CD57 Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005269:Femur / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D051379:Mice; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D016501:Neurites / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016062:Porosity
D018959:CD57 Antigens; D020100:Hydrogels; D003094:Collagen