Beijing Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Neural Regeneration, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China.
Department of Neurobiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, People's Republic of China.
Biomed Mater. 2021 Feb 18;16(2):025011. doi: 10.1088/1748-605X/abd9dc.
The repair of peripheral nerve injury is still a great challenge in clinic. Autologous nerve transplantation is the gold standard for the treatment of long-distance peripheral nerve defects, but this method remains associated with high morbidity of the donor site and lack of matching donor. In this study, a novel chitosan scaffold (CS) loaded with control-released basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was used to repair 20 mm sciatic nerve defects in adult rat. The ultrastructure of bFGF-CS was observed by scanning electron microscope. The tensile tester and nano-indentation were used to evaluate its mechanical properties. Cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) tracing, sciatic nerve function index, electromyography, immunofluorescence staining of regenerated nerve and motor endplate were used to evaluate the regeneration of sciatic nerve in rats. The results showed that the structure and mechanical properties of bFGF-CS was beneficial to the regeneration of sciatic nerve. At 12 weeks after operation, bFGF-CS facilitated sciatic nerve regeneration in rat. CTB successfully crossed the sciatic nerve defect area to reach the cell body of sciatic nerve. The motor endplate was reconstructed, thus promoting the behavioral recovery. These findings suggest that the bFGF-CS provides an effective means of repairing 20 mm sciatic nerve defects and shows great potential for clinical application.
周围神经损伤的修复仍然是临床的一大挑战。自体神经移植是治疗长距离周围神经缺损的金标准，但这种方法仍然存在供体部位发病率高和缺乏匹配供体的问题。在这项研究中，一种新型壳聚糖支架（CS）负载控释碱性成纤维细胞生长因子（bFGF）被用于修复成年大鼠 20mm 坐骨神经缺损。通过扫描电子显微镜观察 bFGF-CS 的超微结构。使用拉力试验机和纳米压痕仪评估其力学性能。霍乱毒素 B 亚单位（CTB）示踪、坐骨神经功能指数、肌电图、再生神经和运动终板免疫荧光染色用于评估大鼠坐骨神经的再生情况。结果表明，bFGF-CS 的结构和力学性能有利于坐骨神经的再生。术后 12 周，bFGF-CS 促进了大鼠坐骨神经的再生。CTB 成功穿过坐骨神经缺损区到达坐骨神经细胞体。运动终板被重建，从而促进了行为的恢复。这些发现表明，bFGF-CS 为修复 20mm 坐骨神经缺损提供了一种有效的方法，具有很大的临床应用潜力。
