title: Combinatorial Therapies After Spinal Cord Injury: How Can Biomaterials Help?
abstract: Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) results in an immediate loss of motor and sensory function below the injury site and is associated with a poor prognosis. The inhibitory environment that develops in response to the injury is mainly due to local expression of inhibitory factors, scarring and the formation of cystic cavitations, all of which limit the regenerative capacity of endogenous or transplanted cells. Strategies that demonstrate promising results induce a change in the microenvironment at- and around the lesion site to promote endogenous cell repair, including axonal regeneration or the integration of transplanted cells. To date, many of these strategies target only a single aspect of SCI; however, the multifaceted nature of SCI suggests that combinatorial strategies will likely be more effective. Biomaterials are a key component of combinatorial strategies, as they have the potential to deliver drugs locally over a prolonged period of time and aid in cell survival, integration and differentiation. Here we summarize the advantages and limitations of widely used strategies to promote recovery after injury and highlight recent research where biomaterials aided combinatorial strategies to overcome some of the barriers of spinal cord regeneration.
authors.affiliation: The Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, 160 College Street, Room 514, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E1, Canada.|Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, 200 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Führmann
authors.affiliation: The Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, 160 College Street, Room 514, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E1, Canada.|Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, 164 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.
authors.forename: Priya N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Anandakumaran
authors.affiliation: The Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, 160 College Street, Room 514, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E1, Canada.|Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, 200 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada.|Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, 164 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G9, Canada.|Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St George St, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H6, Canada.
authors.forename: Molly S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shoichet
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate
keywords: biomaterials; cell transplantation; combinatorial strategies; drug delivery; hydrogel; spinal cord injury; stem cells