Department of Bioengineering, University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus, 12800 E. 19th Avenue, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA.
Nanoscale Res Lett. 2015 Dec;10(1):972. doi: 10.1186/s11671-015-0972-6. Epub 2015 Jun 12.
Despite major advances in the pathophysiological understanding of peripheral nerve damage, the treatment of nerve injuries still remains an unmet medical need. Nerve guidance conduits present a promising treatment option by providing a growth-permissive environment that 1) promotes neuronal cell survival and axon growth and 2) directs axonal extension. To this end, we designed an electrospun nerve guidance conduit using a blend of polyurea and poly-caprolactone with both biochemical and topographical cues. Biochemical cues were integrated into the conduit by functionalizing the polyurea with RGD to improve cell attachment. Topographical cues that resemble natural nerve tissue were incorporated by introducing intraluminal microchannels aligned with nanofibers. We determined that electrospinning the polymer solution across a two electrode system with dissolvable sucrose fibers produced a polymer conduit with the appropriate biomimetic properties. Human neural stem cells were cultured on the conduit to evaluate its ability to promote neuronal growth and axonal extension. The nerve guidance conduit was shown to enhance cell survival, migration, and guide neurite extension.
尽管在外周神经损伤的病理生理学理解方面取得了重大进展，但神经损伤的治疗仍然是未满足的医疗需求。神经引导导管通过提供允许生长的环境，为促进神经元细胞存活和轴突生长和 2）指导轴突延伸提供了有前途的治疗选择。为此，我们设计了一种使用聚脲和聚己内酯混合物的电纺神经引导导管，该混合物具有生化和形貌线索。通过将 RGD 官能化到聚脲中来改善细胞附着，将生化线索整合到导管中。通过引入与纳米纤维对齐的内腔微通道，将类似于天然神经组织的形貌线索纳入其中。我们确定，通过在具有可溶解的蔗糖纤维的两个电极系统上进行聚合物溶液的静电纺丝，产生了具有适当仿生特性的聚合物导管。将人神经干细胞培养在导管上，以评估其促进神经元生长和轴突延伸的能力。神经引导导管被证明可以增强细胞存活、迁移和引导神经突延伸。
