Repairing sciatic nerve injury with self-assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold-containing chitosan conduit

• DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.867711
• Publication Date: 2022-10-13T05:54:10Z
• Authors: Xuezhen Shen; Feng Qu; Yilun Pei; Simeng Lei; Suhang Xia; Jing Liang; Shan Li; Xun Sun; Liang Liu
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; nerve guidance conduits; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; combined therapy; self-assembling peptide; Neurology; peripheral nerve defects; Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system; nerve regeneration; RC346-429

BackgroundAn increasing number of nerve guide scaffolds have been used to replace the “gold-standard” autologous nerve graft for repairing peripheral nerve defects, but nerve regeneration is usually far from complete.MethodsHere, we designed and prepared two functionalized self-assembling peptides (SAP) with the IKVAV and KLT sequences, which were derived from the combination of laminin and VEGF, respectively. Their mixtures were also obtained to combine the effects of neuroprotective and neurotrophic and proangiogenic factors.ResultsThe beneficial effect of peptide gels on nerve regeneration was evaluated in vitro using Schwann cells (SCs). As a useful intraluminal filling, a three-dimensional (3D) functionalized self-assembling peptide (SAP) nanofiber hydrogel was formed in the hollow lumen of chitosan conduits under physiological conditions. In vivo, the combination of the two functionalized SAP gels containing a chitosan nerve conduit significantly accelerated nerve healing and enhanced morphological repair.ConclusionBased on the current findings, the combined application of two functionalized SAP gels with chitosan nerve conduit is a promising therapy for the engineering of peripheral nerve regeneration.