Multichannel nerve guide conduits (MCNGCs) have been widely studied and exhibited outstanding nerve repair function. However, the effect of the geometric structure of MCNGCs on the nerve repair function was still not clear. Herein, we postulated that MCNGCs with different inner surface area-to-volume ratios (ISA/V) of the channels inside the nerve guide conduits (NGCs) would show different nerve repair functions. Therefore, in current work, we constructed a series of hydroxyethyl cellulose/soy protein sponge-based nerve conduit (HSSN) with low, medium, and high ISA/V from hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC)/soy protein isolate (SPI) composite sponges, which were abbreviated as HSSN-L, HSSN-M and HSSN-H, respectively. These NGCs were applied to bridge and repair a 10 mm long sciatic nerve defect in a rat model. Finally, the influence of ISA/V on nerve repair function was evaluated by electrophysiological assessment, histological investigation, and in vivo biodegradability testing. The results of electrophysiological assessment and histological investigation showed that the regenerative nerve tissues bridged with HSSN-H and HSSN-M had higher compound muscle action potential amplitude ratio, higher percentage of positive NF200 and S100 staining, larger axon diameter, lower G-ratio, and greater myelination thickness. Furthermore, the regenerative nerve tissues bridged with HSSN-H also showed higher density of regenerated myelinated nerve fibers and more number of myelin sheath layers. On the whole, the repair efficiency of the peripheral nerve in HSSN-H and HSSN-M groups might be better than that in HSSN-L. These results indicated that higher ISA/V based on HEC/SPI composite sponge may result in greater nerve repair functions. The conclusion provided a probable guiding principle for the structural designs of NGCs in the future.

Graphene oxide-modified electrospun polyvinyl alcohol nanofibrous scaffolds exhibit good biocompatibility and have potential application in skin tissue engineering.

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The challenge of finding an adapted scaffold for ligament tissue engineering remains unsolved after years of researches. A technology to fabricate a multilayer braided scaffold with flexible and elastic poly (l-lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL 85/15) has been recently pioneered by our team. In this study, polyelectrolyte multilayer films (PEM) with poly-l-lysine (PLL)/ hyaluronic acid (HA) were deposited on this scaffold. After PEM modification, polygonal (PLL) and particle-like (HA) structures were present on the braided scaffold with no significant variation of fibers Young's modulus. Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSC) and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) showed good metabolic activity on scaffolds. They presented a spindled shape along the fiber longitudinal direction, and crossed the fibers to form cell bridges. Collagen type I, collagen type III, and tenascin-C secreted by MSCs were detected on day 14. Moreover, one-layer modified scaffold presented increased chemotaxis. As a conclusion, our results indicate that this braided PLCL scaffold with one-layer PEM modification shows inspiring potential with satisfying mechanical properties and biocompatibility. It opens new perspectives to incorporate growth factors within PEM-modified braided PLCL scaffold for ligament tissue engineering and to recruit endogenous cells after implantation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 3042-3052, 2018.

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