Fibrous substrates, functioning as a temporary extracellular matrix, can be easily prepared by 5 electrospinning which allows to obtain fibrous matrices suitable as internal filler for nerve guidance 6 channels. In this study, gelatin micro-or nano-fibres have been prepared by electrospinning 7 technique by tuning gelatin concentration and solution flow rate. The influence of gelatin fibre 8 diameter on cell adhesion and proliferation was tested in vitro using Schwann cells (SC) and dorsal 9 root ganglia (DRG) explant cultures. Cell adhesion was evaluated by quantifying cell spreading area, 10 actin cytoskeleton organization and focal adhesion complex formation. Nano-fibres showed to 11 promote cell spreading and actin cytoskeleton organization, resulting in higher cellular adhesion 12 and proliferation rate. Yet, cell migration and motility were quantified by transwell and time lapse 13 assays respectively and results showed that cells cultured on micro-fibres displayed higher motility 14 and migration rate. Finally, DRG axon outgrowth resulted to be higher on micro-fibres. These data 15 suggest that gelatin electrospun fibres topography can be adjusted in order to modulate SC and 16 axons organization and that both nano-and micro-fibres are promising fillers for the design of 17 devices for peripheral nerve repair. 18 19
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