Soft hydrogel promotes dorsal root ganglion by upregulating gene expression of Ntn4 and Unc5B

Liling Zhang; Qi Han; Shiyu Chen; Di Suo; Luzhong Zhang; Guicai Li; Xin Zhao; Yumin Yang

doi:10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111503

Soft hydrogel promotes dorsal root ganglion by upregulating gene expression of Ntn4 and Unc5B

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces. 2021 Mar:199:111503. doi: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111503. Epub 2020 Dec 5.

Authors

Liling Zhang¹, Qi Han¹, Shiyu Chen¹, Di Suo², Luzhong Zhang¹, Guicai Li³, Xin Zhao⁴, Yumin Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, PR China; Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, PR China.
² Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
³ Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, PR China; Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, PR China; Key Laboratory of Organ Regeneration & Transplantation of the Ministry of Education, Jilin University, 130061, Changchun, PR China. Electronic address: gcli1981@ntu.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: xin.zhao@polyu.edu.hk.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, PR China; Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, 226001, Nantong, PR China. Electronic address: yangym@ntu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33338883
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2020.111503

Abstract

Mechanical property is an important factor of cellular microenvironment for neural tissue regeneration. In this study, polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels with systematically varying elastic modulus were prepared using in situ radical polymerization. We found that the hydrogel was biocompatible, and the length of dorsal root ganglion (DRG)'s axon and cell density were optimal on the hydrogels with elastic modulus of 5.1 kPa (among hydrogels with elastic modulus between 3.6 kPa and 16.5 kPa). These DRGs also exhibited highest gene and protein expression of proliferation marker Epha4, Ntn4, Sema3D and differentiation marker Unc5B. Our study revealed the mechanism of how material stiffness affects DRG proliferation and differentiation. It will also provide theoretical basis and evidence for the design and development of nerve graft with better repair performance.

Keywords: Dorsal root ganglion; Gene and protein expression; Polyacrylamide; Stiffness.

MeSH terms

Cell Differentiation
Elastic Modulus
Ganglia, Spinal*
Gene Expression
Hydrogels*

Substances

Hydrogels