Polyethylene glycol as a promising synthetic material for repair of spinal cord injury

• Published in: Neural regeneration research Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 1003 - 1008
• Main Authors: Kong, Xian-bin, Tang, Qiu-yan, Chen, Xu-yi, Tu, Yue, Sun, Shi-zhong, Sun, Zhong-lei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd 01.06.2017; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Department of Brain, Affiliated Hospital of China Logistics College of People's Armed Police Forces, Tianjin, China; Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China%Tianjin Key Laboratory of Neurological Trauma Repair, Tianjin, China%Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, China; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Biocompatibility; Blood-brain barrier; Brain research; Care and treatment; Cytotoxicity; Fourier transforms; Health aspects; Hydrogels; Membranes; Mitochondria; Nanoparticles; nerve regeneration; spinal cord injury; polyethylene glycol; nerve tissue engineering; biomaterials; spinal nerve repair; biological drug; blood-spinal cord barrier; neural stem cells; carrier; cell culture; neural regeneration; Neurons; Polyethylene glycol; Polymers; Polyvinyl alcohol; Properties; Proteins; Review; Spinal cord injuries; Synthetic products; Tissue engineering; 可生物降解; 损伤修复; 材料性能; 理想; 生物活性分子; 聚乙二醇; 脊髓损伤; 药物载体; China; spinal cord injury; polyethylene glycol; biological drug; blood-spinal cord barrier; carrier; spinal nerve repair; neural regeneration; cell culture; nerve tissue engineering; neural stem cells; nerve regeneration; biomaterials
• ISSN: 1673-5374; 1876-7958
• DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.208597

Polyethylene glycol is a synthetic, biodegradable, and water-soluble polyether. Owing to its good biological and material properties, polyethylene glycol shows promise in spinal cord tissue engineering applications. Although studies have examined repairing spinal cord injury with polyethylene glycol, these compelling findings have not been recently reviewed or evaluated as a whole. Thus, we herein review and summarize the findings of studies conducted both within and beyond China that have examined the repair of spinal cord injury using polyethylene glycol. The following summarizes the results of studies using polyethylene glycol alone as well as coupled with polymers or hydrogels：（1） polyethylene glycol as an adjustable biomolecule carrier resists nerve fiber degeneration, reduces the inflammatory response, inhibits vacuole and scar formation, and protects nerve membranes in the acute stage of spinal cord injury.（2） Polyethylene glycol-coupled polymers not only promote angiogenesis but also carry drugs or bioactive molecules to the injury site. Because such polymers cross both the blood-spinal cord and blood-brain barriers, they have been widely used as drug carriers.（3） Polyethylene glycol hydrogels have been used as supporting substrates for the growth of stem cells after injury, inducing cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Simultaneously, polyethylene glycol hydrogels isolate or reduce local glial scar invasion, promote and guide axonal regeneration, cross the transplanted area, and re-establish synaptic connections with target tissue, thereby promoting spinal cord repair. On the basis of the reviewed studies, we conclude that polyethylene glycol is a promising synthetic material for use in the repair of spinal cord injury.