Romero-Alemán María-Del-Mar, Pérez-Galván José-Manuel, Hernández-Rodríguez José-Enrique, Monzón-Mayor Maximina
Instituto Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Sanitarias, Universidad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain.
Departamento de Morfología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain.
J Biomed Mater Res A. 2025 Jan;113(1):e37825. doi: 10.1002/jbm.a.37825. Epub 2024 Oct 27.
This pilot study investigated the potential of aloe vera (AV) to promote neurite outgrowth in organotypic dorsal root ganglia (DRG) explants (n = 230) from neonatal rats (n = 15). Using this in vitro model of acute axotomy, we assessed neurite outgrowth exceeding 1.5 times the explant diameter (viable explants) and measured the longest neurite length. These parameters were evaluated under control conditions and in cultures supplemented with commercial AV and four aligned scaffolds: poly-L-lactate (PLLA), polydioxanone (PDS), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and blended PHBV/AV. After 6 days of culture, explants were immunostained using neuron-specific marker Tuj1 and Schwann cell marker S100. Measurements were obtained with Image J software and analyzed using Jamovi 2.3. In control and AV dilution media, the study revealed radial tissue growth from the explant body with randomly oriented neurites, whereas in all scaffolds, bidirectional tissue growth occurred parallel to nanofibers. Binomial logistic regression analyses indicated that viable explants were more likely in the control group compared to PDS (p = 0.0042) and PHBV (p < 0.0001), with non-significant differences when compared to AV dilution, PLLA, and PHBV/AV. AV dilution showed a greater association with viable explants than PLLA (p = 0.0459), while non-significant difference was found between AV dilution and PHBV/AV. Additionally, the PHBV/AV scaffold predicted higher odds of viable explants than PLLA (p = 0.0479), PDS (p = 0.0001), and PHBV (p < 0.0001). Groups with similar probabilities of obtaining viable explants (control, AV dilution, and PHBV/AV) exhibited non-significant differences in their longest neurite lengths. In conclusion, control, AV dilution, and PHBV/AV yielded the highest probability of developing viable explants and the longest neurite lengths. This is the first study demonstrating the direct permissiveness of AV for axonal outgrowth. Furthermore, the blended PHBV/AV scaffold showed significant potential as a suitable scaffold for axonal regrowth and Schwann cell migration, ensuring controlled tissue formation for tissue engineering applications.
这项初步研究调查了芦荟（AV）促进新生大鼠（n = 15）的器官型背根神经节（DRG）外植体（n = 230）神经突生长的潜力。利用这种急性轴突切断的体外模型，我们评估了超过外植体直径1.5倍的神经突生长（存活的外植体），并测量了最长神经突的长度。在对照条件下以及在添加了市售AV和四种排列支架的培养物中评估这些参数：聚-L-乳酸（PLLA）、聚二氧杂环己酮（PDS）、聚（3-羟基丁酸酯-co-3-羟基戊酸酯）（PHBV）以及混合的PHBV/AV。培养6天后，使用神经元特异性标记物Tuj1和雪旺细胞标记物S100对外植体进行免疫染色。使用Image J软件进行测量，并使用Jamovi 2.3进行分析。在对照和AV稀释培养基中，研究显示从外植体主体有放射状组织生长，神经突随机取向，而在所有支架中，双向组织生长平行于纳米纤维发生。二项式逻辑回归分析表明，与PDS（p = 0.0042）和PHBV（p < 0.0001）相比，对照组中存活外植体的可能性更大，与AV稀释液、PLLA和PHBV/AV相比差异不显著。AV稀释液与存活外植体的关联比PLLA更大（p = 0.0459），而AV稀释液与PHBV/AV之间未发现显著差异。此外，PHBV/AV支架预测存活外植体的几率高于PLLA（p = 0.0479）、PDS（p = 0.0001）和PHBV（p < 0.0001）。获得存活外植体概率相似的组（对照、AV稀释液和PHBV/AV）在其最长神经突长度上表现出不显著差异。总之，对照、AV稀释液和PHBV/AV产生存活外植体和最长神经突长度的概率最高。这是第一项证明AV对轴突生长具有直接允许作用的研究。此外，混合的PHBV/AV支架显示出作为轴突再生和雪旺细胞迁移的合适支架的巨大潜力，确保了组织工程应用中可控的组织形成。
