Engineered neural tissue for peripheral nerve repair

Georgiou, Melanie; Bunting, Stephen C. J.; Davies, Heather A.; Loughlin, Alison J.; Golding, Jonathan P. and Phillips, James B. (2013). Engineered neural tissue for peripheral nerve repair. Biomaterials, 34(30) pp. 7335–7343.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.06.025

Abstract

A new combination of tissue engineering techniques provides a simple and effective method for building aligned cellular biomaterials. Self-alignment of Schwann cells within a tethered type-1 collagen matrix, followed by removal of interstitial fluid produces a stable tissue-like biomaterial that recreates the aligned cellular and extracellular matrix architecture associated with nerve grafts. Sheets of this engineered neural tissue supported and directed neuronal growth in a co-culture model, and initial in vivo tests showed that a device containing rods of rolled-up sheets could support neuronal growth during rat sciatic nerve repair (5 mm gap). Further testing of this device for repair of a critical-sized 15 mm gap showed that, at 8 weeks, engineered neural tissue had supported robust neuronal regeneration across the gap. This is, therefore, a useful new approach for generating anisotropic engineered tissues, and it can be used with Schwann cells to fabricate artificial neural tissue for peripheral nerve repair.

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