Tissue engineering is a promising method for the repair of spinal cord injuries (Review)

Ji, Wenchen; Hu, Shouye; Zhou, Jiao; Wang, Gang; Wang, Kunzheng; Zhang, Yuelin

doi:10.3892/etm.2013.1454

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…Implantable and injectable artificial scaffolds, such as conduits, [1][2][3][4] fibers, [5,6] and hydrogels [7] have been developed to promote directed nerve growth after injury. The internal structure of implantable scaffolds generally contains an aligned architecture in the form of long fibers, elongated pores, or channels that provide physical and mechanical guiding stimuli or discontinuous topographies, such as nano- [19] and micropillars [20][21][22] have been produced to study directed growth of neural or neurogenic cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anisometric Microstructures to Determine Minimal Critical Physical Cues Required for Neurite Alignment

Vedaraman

Perez-Tirado

Haraszti

et al. 2021

Adv Healthcare Materials

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In nerve regeneration, scaffolds play an important role in providing an artificial extracellular matrix with architectural, mechanical, and biochemical cues to bridge the site of injury. Directed nerve growth is a crucial aspect of nerve repair, often introduced by engineered scaffolds imparting linear tracks. The influence of physical cues, determined by well-defined architectures, has been mainly studied for implantable scaffolds and is usually limited to continuous guiding features. In this report, the potential of short anisometric microelements in inducing aligned neurite extension, their dimensions, and the role of vertical and horizontal distances between them, is investigated. This provides crucial information to create efficient injectable 3D materials with discontinuous, in situ magnetically oriented microstructures, like the Anisogel. By designing and fabricating periodic, anisometric, discreet guidance cues in a high-throughput 2D in vitro platform using two-photon lithography techniques, the authors are able to decipher the minimal guidance cues required for directed nerve growth along the major axis of the microelements. These features determine whether axons grow unidirectionally or cross paths via the open spaces between the elements, which is vital for the design of injectable Anisogels for enhanced nerve repair.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anisometric Microstructures to Determine Minimal Critical Physical Cues Required for Neurite Alignment

Vedaraman

Perez-Tirado

Haraszti

et al. 2021

Adv Healthcare Materials

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“…In recent years, the rapid development of tissue engineering has promoted the invention and improvement of tissue engineering in spinal cord regeneration [ 9 , 11 , 12 , 37 ]. The general procedure of tissue engineering is to co-culture functional cells and biodegradable scaffolds in vitro , and then implant the constructs into damaged organs, thus replacing injured tissues to restore the structure and function of the original organ [ 23 , 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tissue-Engineered Regeneration of Completely Transected Spinal Cord Using Induced Neural Stem Cells and Gelatin-Electrospun Poly (Lactide-Co-Glycolide)/Polyethylene Glycol Scaffolds

et al. 2015

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Tissue engineering has brought new possibilities for the treatment of spinal cord injury. Two important components for tissue engineering of the spinal cord include a suitable cell source and scaffold. In our study, we investigated induced mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) directly reprogrammed into neural stem cells (iNSCs), as a cell source. Three-dimensional (3D) electrospun poly (lactide-co-glycolide)/polyethylene glycol (PLGA-PEG) nanofiber scaffolds were used for iNSCs adhesion and growth. Cell growth, survival and proliferation on the scaffolds were investigated. Scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and nuclei staining were used to assess cell growth on the scaffolds. Scaffolds with iNSCs were then transplanted into transected rat spinal cords. Two or 8 weeks following transplantation, immunofluorescence was performed to determine iNSC survival and differentiation within the scaffolds. Functional recovery was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) Scale. Results indicated that iNSCs showed similar morphological features with wild-type neural stem cells (wt-NSCs), and expressed a variety of neural stem cell marker genes. Furthermore, iNSCs were shown to survive, with the ability to self-renew and undergo neural differentiation into neurons and glial cells within the 3D scaffolds in vivo. The iNSC-seeded scaffolds restored the continuity of the spinal cord and reduced cavity formation. Additionally, iNSC-seeded scaffolds contributed to functional recovery of the spinal cord. Therefore, PLGA-PEG scaffolds seeded with iNSCs may serve as promising supporting transplants for repairing spinal cord injury (SCI).

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“…SCI is a multifaceted clinical condition. In recent years, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering based approaches have been proposed as options for SCI repair (Ji et al, ), especially those using biomaterials (Kubinova, ). For example, nerve guides have been used to bridge extensive spinal cord damages in order to provide physical, directional, and mechanical support for axonal regrowth, to inhibit scar tissue formation, and to facilitate nerve repair by serving as local drug delivery systems to stimulate nerve growth (Lanfer et al, ; Tsai, Dalton, Shoichet, & Tator, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production and evaluation of biosynthesized cellulose tubes as promising nerve guides for spinal cord injury treatment

Stumpf

Tang

Kirkwood

et al. 2020

J Biomedical Materials Res

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a central nervous disorder that can result in permanent motor and sensory damage due to a severed communication pathway. Although there is currently no effective treatment, nerve guide tubes have been used to bridge the injured stumps and act as drug delivery systems. In this study, biosynthesized cellulose (BC) nerve guides were prepared, and nerve growth factor (NGF)—a model growth factor—was incorporated into the tubular nerve guide in order to obtain a nerve guide/drug delivery system to assist the regeneration. To achieve this, Gluconacetobacter hansenii was cultivated in a special bioreactor to produce biosynthesized cellulose tubes (BCTs) in situ, and the physical and mechanical properties of the BCTs obtained from different cultivation time points were evaluated. Our results showed that the properties of the BCTs were comparable to those of the native human neural tissues, and that the NGF released from the BCTs was bioactive for at least 7 days as evaluated by PC12 cell cultures in vitro. In summary, this study evaluated the use of BCT as a drug releasing nerve guide, and our results showed that the BCT is an attractive strategy to enhance nerve regeneration after the SCI.

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Tissue engineering is a promising method for the repair of spinal cord injuries (Review)

Cited by 19 publications

References 84 publications

Anisometric Microstructures to Determine Minimal Critical Physical Cues Required for Neurite Alignment

Anisometric Microstructures to Determine Minimal Critical Physical Cues Required for Neurite Alignment

Tissue-Engineered Regeneration of Completely Transected Spinal Cord Using Induced Neural Stem Cells and Gelatin-Electrospun Poly (Lactide-Co-Glycolide)/Polyethylene Glycol Scaffolds

Production and evaluation of biosynthesized cellulose tubes as promising nerve guides for spinal cord injury treatment

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