A novel artificial nerve graft for repairing long-distance sciatic nerve defects: a self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold-containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) conduit

Xianghai Wang; Mengjie Pan; Jinkun Wen; Yinjuan Tang; Audra D Hamilton; Yuanyuan Li; Changhui Qian; Zhongying Liu; Wutian Wu; Jiasong Guo

doi:10.4103/1673-5374.147944

A novel artificial nerve graft for repairing long-distance sciatic nerve defects: a self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold-containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) conduit

Neural Regen Res. 2014 Dec 15;9(24):2132-41. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.147944.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Histology and Embryology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
² Department of Histology and Embryology, Xiangnan University, Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China.
³ Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁴ Department of Anatomy, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China ; GHM Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
⁵ Department of Histology and Embryology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China ; Key Laboratory of Tissue Construction and Detection of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China ; Institute of Bone Biology, Academy of Orthopedics, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.

Abstract

In this study, we developed a novel artificial nerve graft termed self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold (SAPNS)-containing poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) conduit (SPC) and used it to bridge a 10-mm-long sciatic nerve defect in the rat. Retrograde tracing, behavioral testing and histomorphometric analyses showed that compared with the empty PLGA conduit implantation group, the SPC implantation group had a larger number of growing and extending axons, a markedly increased diameter of regenerated axons and a greater thickness of the myelin sheath in the conduit. Furthermore, there was an increase in the size of the neuromuscular junction and myofiber diameter in the target muscle. These findings suggest that the novel artificial SPC nerve graft can promote axonal regeneration and remyelination in the transected peripheral nerve and can be used for repairing peripheral nerve injury.

Keywords: NSFC grants; artificial nerve graft; axon; myelin; nanofiber scaffold; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neuromuscular junction; peripheral nerve defect; poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid); remyelination; self-assembling peptide.