Gelatin nanofiber-reinforced decellularized amniotic membrane promotes axon regeneration and functional recovery in the surgical treatment of peripheral nerve injury

Long Chen; Xiongbo Song; Zhicheng Yao; Conglai Zhou; Junjun Yang; Qiming Yang; Junrong Chen; Jiarui Wu; Zeyu Sun; Liling Gu; Yi Ma; Shin-Jae Lee; Chi Zhang; Hai-Quan Mao; Li Sun

doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122207

Gelatin nanofiber-reinforced decellularized amniotic membrane promotes axon regeneration and functional recovery in the surgical treatment of peripheral nerve injury

Biomaterials. 2023 Sep:300:122207. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122207. Epub 2023 Jun 17.

Authors

Long Chen¹, Xiongbo Song¹, Zhicheng Yao², Conglai Zhou¹, Junjun Yang³, Qiming Yang¹, Junrong Chen¹, Jiarui Wu¹, Zeyu Sun⁴, Liling Gu⁴, Yi Ma³, Shin-Jae Lee⁵, Chi Zhang⁶, Hai-Quan Mao⁷, Li Sun⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedics, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000, China; The Lab of Tissue Engineering and Translational Medicine, College of Medicine, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000, China.
² Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
³ The Lab of Tissue Engineering and Translational Medicine, College of Medicine, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000, China.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000, China.
⁵ Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA.
⁶ Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA. Electronic address: czhang96@jhu.edu.
⁷ Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA; Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. Electronic address: hmao@jhu.edu.
⁸ Department of Orthopedics, Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000, China; The Lab of Tissue Engineering and Translational Medicine, College of Medicine, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550000, China. Electronic address: lisun@gzu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37352606
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122207

Abstract

Effective recovery of peripheral nerve injury (PNI) after surgical treatment relies on promoting axon regeneration and minimizing the fibrotic response. Decellularized amniotic membrane (dAM) has unique features as a natural matrix for promoting PNI repair due to its pro-regenerative extracellular matrix (ECM) structure and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the fragile nature and rapid degradation rate of dAM limit its widespread use in PNI surgery. Here we report an engineered composite membrane for PNI repair by combining dAM with gelatin (Gel) nanofiber membrane to construct a Gel nanofiber-dAM composite membrane (Gel-dAM) through interfacial bonding. The Gel-dAM showed enhanced mechanical properties and reduced degradation rate, while retaining maximal bioactivity and biocompatibility of dAM. These factors led to improved axon regeneration, reduced fibrotic response, and better functional recovery in PNI repair. As a fully natural materials-derived off-the-shelf matrix, Gel-dAM exhibits superior clinical translational potential for the surgical treatment of PNI.

Keywords: Axon regeneration; Composite membrane; Decellularized amniotic membrane; Gelatin; Peripheral nerve injury.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Amnion
Axons / pathology
Fibrosis
Gelatin / chemistry
Humans
Nanofibers* / chemistry
Nerve Regeneration
Peripheral Nerve Injuries* / therapy

Substances

Gelatin