Experimental Study on Repairing Peripheral Nerve Defects with Novel Bionic Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Peripheral nerve defects are a worldwide problem, and autologous nerve transplantation is currently the gold‐standard treatment for them. Tissue‐engineered nerve (TEN) grafts are widely considered promising methods for the same, and have attracted much attention. To improve repair, the incorporation of bionics into TEN grafts has become a focus of research. In this study, a novel bionic TEN graft with a biomimetic structure and composition is designed. For this purpose, a chitin helical scaffold is fabricated by means of mold casting and acetylation using chitosan as the raw material, following which a fibrous membrane is electrospun on the outer layer of the chitin scaffold. The lumen of the structure is filled with human bone mesenchymal stem cell‐derived extracellular matrix and fibers to provide nutrition and topographic guidance, respectively. The prepared TEN graft is then transplanted to bridge 10 mm sciatic nerve defects in rats. Morphological and functional examination shows that the repair effects of the TEN grafts and autografts are similar. The bionic TEN graft described in this study shows great potential for application and offers a new way to repair clinical peripheral nerve defects.

Harnessing three-dimensional porous chitosan microsphere embedded with adipose-derived stem cells to promote nerve regeneration

“…Since 1967, when the Dutch scholar Van Wezel developed the first microcarrier using DEAE-Sephadex A 50, the application of microcarriers began to develop rapidly at home and abroad, and microcarriers of various materials have been emerging [41,42]. In the field of nerve repair, the materials used to prepare microcarriers include chitosan, collagen, fibrin, hyaluronic acid, alginate, and polyethylene glycol [43][44][45][46]. Among them, chitosan, widely found in nature and extracted from insects' shells, is the product of chitin-N-deacetylation.…”

Interactions between Schwann cell and extracellular matrix in peripheral nerve regeneration

“…This secretion can lead to the formation of vascular basement membranes and peripheral myelinated axon regeneration. Chitosan's unique physicochemical composition allows it to mimic the physiological multilayer structure of peripheral nerves, making it suitable for biomimetic structures (80)(81)(82).…”

Prospects of Using Chitosan-Based Biopolymers in the Treatment of Peripheral Nerve Injuries

“…( D ) Structure of the phthalated cashew gum (PCG) and chitosan (CH) polymers. Copyright reprinted with permission from [ 132 , 135 , 136 , 137 ].…”

“…(C) TEM micrographs of gelatin/chitosan coreshell nanofibers. (D) Structure of the phthalated cashew gum (PCG) and chitosan (CH) polymers.Copyright reprinted with permission from[132,[135][136][137].…”