Spinal cord and brain injuries usually lead to cavity formation. The transplantation by combining stem cells and tissue engineering scaffolds has the potential to fill the cavities and replace the lost neural cells. Both chitosan and collagen have their unique characteristics. In this study, the effects of chitosan and collagen on the behavior of rat neural stem cells (at the neurosphere level) were tested in vitro in terms of cytotoxicity and supporting ability for stem cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. Under the serum-free condition, both chitosan membranes and collagen gels had low cytotoxicity to neurospheres. That is, cells migrated from neurospheres, and processes extended out from these neurospheres and the differentiated cells. Compared with the above two materials, chitosan-collagen membranes were more suitable for the co-culture with rat neural stem cells, because, except for low cytotoxicity and supporting ability for the cell survival, in this group, a large number of cells were observed to migrate out from neurospheres, and the differentiating percentage from neurospheres into neurons was significantly increased. Further modification of chitosan-collagen membranes may shed light on in vivo nerve regeneration by transplanting neural stem cells.

The injury of central nervous system (CNS) usually causes the cavity formation. Although transplantation of neural stem/precursor cells (NSPCs) into the lesioned area of CNS has been shown to be implicated in the functional restoration, the therapeutic result is limited by the poor survival of NSPCs as well as their insufficient proliferation and differentiation abilities. Type-1 collagen is considered as a candidate scaffold or drug delivery system to overcome the aforementioned obstacle. This study observed the effects of the CNTF (ciliary neurotrophic factor)-collagen gel-controlled delivery system and daily addition of soluble-form CNTF on the NSPC survival, migration, proliferation and differentiation. The results showed that, within 12 h of the initial co-culture, CNTF was released in a burst pattern, then the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system stably released CNTF for up to 12 d. The cell viability test, together with immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and Western blotting, showed that the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system supported the NSPCs seeded on the surface of collagen gel survival and facilitated their migration and proliferation. The daily addition of soluble-form CNTF to the medium had similar effects to the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system, but large quantities of soluble-form CNTF were consumed during the entire process. Taken together, the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system not only provides a physical scaffold for the transplanted NSPCs to adhere and migrate, but also facilitates the NSPC survival, growth and proliferation, simultaneously reducing the consumption of the expensive growth factors. This system may be used to enhance the microenvironment in the lesioned area of CNS.