Department of Physiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China.
Biomaterials. 2011 Jan;32(3):787-96. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.09.046. Epub 2010 Oct 14.
Autologous nerve grafts have been the 'gold standard' for treatment of peripheral nerve defects that exceed the critical gap length. To address issues of limited availability of donor nerves and donor site morbidity, we have fabricated chitosan conduits and seeded them with bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC)-derived Schwann cells as an alternative. The derived Schwann cells used were checked for fate commitment. The conduits were tested for efficacy in bridging the critical gap length of 12 mm in sciatic nerves of adult rats. By three months post-operation, mid-shank circumference, nerve conduction velocity, average regenerated myelin area, and myelinated axon count, in nerves bridged with BMSC-derived Schwann cells were similar to those treated with sciatic nerve-derived Schwann cells (p > 0.05) but significantly higher than those bridged with PBS-filled conduits (p < 0.05). Evidence is thus provided in support of the use of chitosan conduits seeded with BMSC-derived Schwann cells to treat critical defects in peripheral nerves. This provides the basis to pursue BMSC as an autologous source of Schwann cells for transplantation therapy in larger animal species.
自体神经移植物一直是治疗超过临界间隙长度的周围神经缺损的“金标准”。为了解决供体神经有限可用性和供体部位发病率的问题，我们制备了壳聚糖导管，并将骨髓基质细胞（BMSC）衍生的施万细胞接种到其中作为替代物。所使用的衍生施万细胞被检查其命运承诺。这些导管被测试用于桥接成年大鼠坐骨神经 12mm 临界间隙长度的功效。术后三个月，用 BMSC 衍生的施万细胞桥接的神经的中踝周长、神经传导速度、平均再生髓鞘面积和有髓神经轴计数与用坐骨神经衍生的施万细胞治疗的神经相似（p>0.05），但明显高于用 PBS 填充导管桥接的神经（p<0.05）。因此，提供了使用壳聚糖导管接种 BMSC 衍生的施万细胞来治疗周围神经临界缺损的证据。这为在更大的动物物种中使用 BMSC 作为施万细胞的自体来源进行移植治疗提供了依据。
