College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China.
J Biomed Mater Res A. 2024 May;112(5):700-709. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.37649. Epub 2023 Nov 14.
Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is caused by the loss of sensory hair cells (HCs) and/or connected spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs). The current clinical conventional treatment for SNHL is cochlear implantation (CI). The principle of CI is to bypass degenerated auditory HCs and directly electrically stimulate SGNs to restore hearing. However, the effectiveness of CI is limited when SGNs are severely damaged. In the present study, oriented nanofiber scaffolds were fabricated using electrospinning technology to mimic the SGN spatial microenvironment in the inner ear. Meanwhile, different proportions of polyaniline (PANI), poly-l-lactide (PLLA), gelatin (Gel) were composited to mimic the composition and mechanical properties of auditory basement membrane. The effects of oriented PANI/PLLA/Gel biomimetic nanofiber scaffolds for neurite outgrowth were analyzed. The results showed the SGNs grew in an orientation along the fiber direction, and the length of the protrusions increased significantly on PANI/PLLA/Gel scaffold groups. The 2% PANI/PLLA/Gel group showed best effects for promoting SGN adhesion and nerve fiber extension. In conclusion, the biomimetic oriented nanofiber scaffolds can simulate the microenvironment of SGNs as well as promote neurite outgrowth in vitro, which may provide a feasible research idea for SGN regeneration and even therapeutic treatments of SNHL in future.
感音神经性听力损失 (SNHL) 是由感觉毛细胞 (HCs) 和/或相连的螺旋神经节神经元 (SGNs) 的损失引起的。目前 SNHL 的临床常规治疗方法是耳蜗植入 (CI)。CI 的原理是绕过退化的听觉 HCs，直接电刺激 SGNs 以恢复听力。然而，当 SGNs 严重受损时，CI 的效果有限。在本研究中，使用静电纺丝技术制备了定向纳米纤维支架，以模拟内耳中的 SGN 空间微环境。同时，将不同比例的聚苯胺 (PANI)、聚 L-乳酸 (PLLA)、明胶 (Gel) 复合，以模拟听觉基底膜的组成和机械性能。分析了定向 PANI/PLLA/Gel 仿生纳米纤维支架对神经突生长的影响。结果表明，SGNs 沿着纤维方向生长，在 PANI/PLLA/Gel 支架组中，突起的长度显著增加。2%的 PANI/PLLA/Gel 组对促进 SGN 黏附和神经纤维延伸的效果最佳。总之，仿生定向纳米纤维支架可以模拟 SGN 的微环境，并促进体外神经突生长，这可能为 SGN 再生甚至 SNHL 的治疗提供可行的研究思路。
