Lizarraga‐Valderrama, L.R., Ronchi, G., Nigmatullin, R. et al. (5 more authors) (2021) Preclinical study of peripheral nerve regeneration using nerve guidance conduits based on polyhydroxyalkanaotes. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine, 6 (3). e10223. ISSN 2380-6761
Abstract
Nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) are used as an alternative to the “gold standard” nerve autografting, preventing the need for surgical intervention required to harvest autologous nerves. However, the regeneration outcomes achieved with the current NGCs are only comparable with autografting when the gap is short (less than 10 mm). In the present study, we have developed NGCs made from a blend of polyhydroxyalkanoates, a family of natural resorbable polymers. Hollow NGCs made from a 75:25 poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) blend (PHA-NGCs) were manufactured using dip-molding. These PHA-NGCs showed appropriate flexibility for peripheral nerve regeneration. In vitro cell studies performed using RT4-D6P2T rat Schwann cell line confirmed that the material is capable of sustaining cell proliferation and adhesion. PHA-NGCs were then implanted in vivo to repair 10 mm gaps of the median nerve of female Wistar rats for 12 weeks. Functional evaluation of the regenerated nerve using the grasping test showed that PHA-NGCs displayed similar motor recovery as the autograft, starting from week 7. Additionally, nerve cross-sectional area, density and number of myelinated cells, as well as axon diameter, fiber diameter, myelin thickness and g-ratio obtained using the PHA-NGCs were found comparable to an autograft. This preclinical data confirmed that the PHA-NGCs are indeed highly promising candidates for peripheral nerve regeneration.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. Bioengineering & Translational Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | nerve regeneration; nerve tissue engineering; peripheral nerve regeneration |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Materials Science and Engineering (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 24 May 2021 15:36 |
Last Modified: | 02 Mar 2022 01:23 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/btm2.10223 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:174491 |