Department of Ophthalmology, Keck School of Medicine, USC Roski Eye Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 14;13(1):13233. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-40097-6.
Failure to direct axon regeneration to appropriate targets is a major barrier to restoring function after nerve injury. Development of strategies that can direct targeted regeneration of neurons such as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are needed to delay or reverse blindness in diseases like glaucoma. Here, we demonstrate that a new class of asymmetric, charge balanced (ACB) waveforms are effective at directing RGC axon growth, in vitro, without compromising cell viability. Unlike previously proposed direct current (DC) stimulation approaches, charge neutrality of ACB waveforms ensures the safety of stimulation while asymmetry ensures its efficacy. Furthermore, we demonstrate the relative influence of pulse amplitude and pulse width on the overall effectiveness of stimulation. This work can serve as a practical guideline for the potential deployment of electrical stimulation as a treatment strategy for nerve injury.
未能将轴突再生引导至适当的靶标是神经损伤后恢复功能的主要障碍。需要开发能够引导神经元（如视网膜神经节细胞 [RGC]）有针对性再生的策略，以延缓或逆转青光眼等疾病导致的失明。在这里，我们证明了一类新型的不对称、电荷平衡（ACB）波形在体外有效引导 RGC 轴突生长，而不会损害细胞活力。与之前提出的直流（DC）刺激方法不同，ACB 波形的电荷中性确保了刺激的安全性，而不对称性则确保了其有效性。此外，我们还证明了脉冲幅度和脉冲宽度对刺激整体效果的相对影响。这项工作可以为电刺激作为神经损伤治疗策略的潜在应用提供实用指南。
