A Combined Conduit-Bioactive Hydrogel Approach for Regeneration of Transected Sciatic Nerves

• Published in: ACS applied bio materials Vol. 5; no. 10; pp. 4611 - 4624
• Main Authors: Lai, Cheuk Sun Edwin, Leyva-Aranda, Viridiana, Kong, Victoria H., Lopez-Silva, Tania L., Farsheed, Adam C., Cristobal, Carlo D., Swain, Joseph W. R., Lee, Hyun Kyoung, Hartgerink, Jeffrey D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 17.10.2022
• Subjects: self-assembly; peptide; peripheral nerve regeneration; electromyography; nerve guidance conduit; sciatic nerve transection
• ISSN: 2576-6422; 2576-6422
• DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.2c00132

Transected peripheral nerve injury (PNI) affects the quality of life of patients, which leads to socioeconomic burden. Despite the existence of autografts and commercially available nerve guidance conduits (NGCs), the complexity of peripheral nerve regeneration requires further research in bioengineered NGCs to improve surgical outcomes. In this work, we introduce multidomain peptide (MDP) hydrogels, as intraluminal fillers, into electrospun poly­(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) conduits to bridge 10 mm rat sciatic nerve defects. The efficacy of treatment groups was evaluated by electro­myography and gait analysis to determine their electrical and motor recovery. We then studied the samples’ histo­morphometry with immuno­fluorescence staining and automatic axon counting/measurement software. Comparison with negative control group shows that PCL conduits filled with an anionic MDP may improve functional recovery 16 weeks postoperation, displaying higher amplitude of compound muscle action potential, greater gastrocnemius muscle weight retention, and earlier occurrence of flexion contracture. In contrast, PCL conduits filled with a cationic MDP showed the least degree of myelination and poor functional recovery. This phenomenon may be attributed to MDPs’ difference in degradation time. Electrospun PCL conduits filled with an anionic MDP may become an attractive tissue engineering strategy for treating transected PNI when supplemented with other bioactive modifications.