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Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate strips seeded with regenerative cells are effective promoters of peripheral nerve repair.
Journal article

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate strips seeded with regenerative cells are effective promoters of peripheral nerve repair.

  • Schaakxs D Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.
  • Kalbermatten DF Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland.
  • Pralong E Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Raffoul W Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, CHUV, University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Wiberg M Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.
  • Kingham PJ Department of Integrative Medical Biology, Umeå University, Sweden.
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  • 2015-01-06
Published in:
  • Journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. - 2017
Schwann cells
biomaterial
muscle
nerve injury
regeneration
stem cells
Animals
Electromyography
Female
Hydroxybutyrates
Muscles
Nerve Regeneration
Organ Size
Peripheral Nerves
Polyesters
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Recovery of Function
Walking
English Peripheral nerve injuries are often associated with loss of nerve tissue and require a graft to bridge the gap. Autologous nerve grafts are still the 'gold standard' in reconstructive surgery but have several disadvantages, such as sacrifice of a functional nerve, neuroma formation and loss of sensation at the donor site. Bioengineered grafts represent a promising approach to address this problem. In this study, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) strips were used to bridge a 10 mm rat sciatic nerve gap and their effects on long-term (12 weeks) nerve regeneration were compared. PHB strips were seeded with different cell types, either primary Schwann cells (SCs) or SC-like differentiated adipose-derived stem cells (dASCs) suspended in a fibrin glue matrix. The control group was PHB and fibrin matrix without cells. Functional and morphological properties of the regenerated nerve were assessed using walking track analysis, EMGs, muscle weight ratios and muscle and nerve histology. The animals treated with PHB strips seeded with SCs or dASCs showed significantly better functional ability than the control group. This correlated with less muscle atrophy and greater axon myelination in the cell groups. These findings suggest that the PHB strip seeded with cells provides a beneficial environment for nerve regeneration. Furthermore, dASCs, which are abundant and easily accessible, constitute an attractive cell source for future applications of cell therapy for the clinical repair of traumatic nerve injuries. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/238086
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