scholarly journals Imaging in the repair of peripheral nerve injury

Nanomedicine ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 2659-2677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor D Luzhansky ◽  
Leland C Sudlow ◽  
David M Brogan ◽  
Matthew D Wood ◽  
Mikhail Y Berezin

Surgical intervention followed by physical therapy remains the major way to repair damaged nerves and restore function. Imaging constitutes promising, yet underutilized, approaches to improve surgical and postoperative techniques. Dedicated methods for imaging nerve regeneration will potentially provide surgical guidance, enable recovery monitoring and postrepair intervention, elucidate failure mechanisms and optimize preclinical procedures. Herein, we present an outline of promising innovations in imaging-based tracking of in vivo peripheral nerve regeneration. We emphasize optical imaging because of its cost, versatility, relatively low toxicity and sensitivity. We discuss the use of targeted probes and contrast agents (small molecules and nanoparticles) to facilitate nerve regeneration imaging and the engineering of grafts that could be used to track nerve repair. We also discuss how new imaging methods might overcome the most significant challenges in nerve injury treatment.

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1059-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Carvalho ◽  
S. Wrobel ◽  
C. Meyer ◽  
C. Brandenberger ◽  
I. F. Cengiz ◽  
...  

This experimental work considers the innovative use of the biomaterial Gellan Gum (GG) as a luminal filler for nerve guidance channels.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shixian Dong ◽  
Sijia Feng ◽  
Yuzhou Chen ◽  
Mo Chen ◽  
Yimeng Yang ◽  
...  

Peripheral nerve injury gives rise to devastating conditions including neural dysfunction, unbearable pain and even paralysis. The therapeutic effect of current treatment for peripheral nerve injury is unsatisfactory, resulting in slow nerve regeneration and incomplete recovery of neural function. In this study, nerve suture combined with ADSCs injection was adopted in rat model of sciatic nerve injury. Under real-time visualization of the injected cells with the guidance of NIR-II fluorescence imaging in vivo, a spatio-temporal map displaying cell migration from the proximal injection site (0 day post-injection) of the nerve to the sutured site (7 days post-injection), and then to the distal section (14 days post-injection) was demonstrated. Furthermore, the results of electromyography and mechanical pain threshold indicated nerve regeneration and functional recovery after the combined therapy. Therefore, in the current study, the observed ADSCs migration in vivo, electrophysiological examination results and pathological changes all provided robust evidence for the efficacy of the applied treatment. Our approach of nerve suture combined with ADSCs injection in treating peripheral nerve injury under real-time NIR-II imaging monitoring in vivo added novel insights into the treatment for peripheral nerve injury, thus further enhancing in-depth understanding of peripheral nerve regeneration and the mechanism behind.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 572
Author(s):  
Andrea Lavorato ◽  
Stefania Raimondo ◽  
Marina Boido ◽  
Luisa Muratori ◽  
Giorgia Durante ◽  
...  

Traumatic peripheral nerve lesions affect hundreds of thousands of patients every year; their consequences are life-altering and often devastating and cause alterations in movement and sensitivity. Spontaneous peripheral nerve recovery is often inadequate. In this context, nowadays, cell therapy represents one of the most innovative approaches in the field of nerve repair therapies. The purpose of this systematic review is to discuss the features of different types of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) relevant for peripheral nerve regeneration after nerve injury. The published literature was reviewed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A combination of the keywords “nerve regeneration”, “stem cells”, “peripheral nerve injury”, “rat”, and “human” were used. Additionally, a “MeSH” research was performed in PubMed using the terms “stem cells” and “nerve regeneration”. The characteristics of the most widely used MSCs, their paracrine potential, targeted stimulation, and differentiation potentials into Schwann-like and neuronal-like cells are described in this paper. Considering their ability to support and stimulate axonal growth, their remarkable paracrine activity, their presumed differentiation potential, their extremely low immunogenicity, and their high survival rate after transplantation, ADSCs appear to be the most suitable and promising MSCs for the recovery of peripheral nerve lesion. Clinical considerations are finally reported.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Liu ◽  
Peizhen Lv ◽  
Yongjia Zhu ◽  
Huayu Wu ◽  
Kun Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Salidriside (SDS), a phenylpropanoid glycoside derived from Rhodiola rosea L, has been shown to be neuroprotective in many studies, which may be promising in nerve recovery. In this study, the neuroprotective effects of SDS on engineered nerve constructed by Schwann cells (SCs) and Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) were studied in vitro. We further investigated the effect of combinational therapy of SDS and PLGA/SCs based tissue engineering on peripheral nerve regeneration based on the rat model of nerve injury by sciatic transection. The results showed that SDS dramatically enhanced the proliferation and function of SCs. The underlying mechanism may be that SDS affects SCs growth through the modulation of neurotrophic factors (BDNF, GDNF and CNTF). 12 weeks after implantation with a 12 mm gap of sciatic nerve injury, SDS-PLGA/SCs achieved satisfying outcomes of nerve regeneration, as evidenced by morphological and functional improvements upon therapy by SDS, PLGA/SCs or direct suture group assessed by sciatic function index, nerve conduction assay, HE staining and immunohistochemical analysis. Our results demonstrated the significant role of introducing SDS into neural tissue engineering to promote nerve regeneration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongkui Wang ◽  
Ping Zhang ◽  
Jun Yu ◽  
Fuchao Zhang ◽  
Wenzhao Dai ◽  
...  

AbstractSchwann cells experience de-differentiation, proliferation, migration, re-differentiation and myelination, and participate in the repair and regeneration of injured peripheral nerves. Our previous sequencing analysis suggested that the gene expression level of matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP7), a Schwann cell-secreted proteolytic enzyme, was robustly elevated in rat sciatic nerve segments after nerve injury. However, the biological roles of MMP7 are poorly understood. Here, we exposed primary cultured Schwann cells with MMP7 recombinant protein and transfected siRNA against MMP7 into Schwann cells to examine the effect of exogenous and endogenous MMP7. Meanwhile, the effects of MMP7 in nerve regeneration after sciatic nerve crush in vivo were observed. Furthermore, RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis of Schwann cells were conducted to show the molecular mechanism behind the phenomenon. In vitro studies showed that MMP7 significantly elevated the migration rate of Schwann cells but did not affect the proliferation rate of Schwann cells. In vivo studies demonstrated that increased level of MMP7 contributed to Schwann cell migration and myelin sheaths formation after peripheral nerve injury. MMP7-mediated genetic changes were revealed by sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Taken together, our current study demonstrated the promoting effect of MMP7 on Schwann cell migration and peripheral nerve regeneration, benefited the understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying peripheral nerve injury, and thus might facilitate the treatment of peripheral nerve regeneration in clinic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 188-193
Author(s):  
Akihiro NISHIYAMA ◽  
Takahiko SHIBAHARA ◽  
Kenichi SASAKI ◽  
Masayuki TAKANO ◽  
Kenichi MASTUZAKA ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Rao ◽  
Dianying Zhang ◽  
Tengjiaozi Fang ◽  
Changfeng Lu ◽  
Bo Wang ◽  
...  

At present, repair methods for peripheral nerve injury often fail to get satisfactory result. Although various strategies have been adopted to investigate the microenvironment after peripheral nerve injury, the underlying molecular mechanisms of neurite outgrowth remain unclear. In this study, we evaluate the effects of exosomes from gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) combined with biodegradable chitin conduits on peripheral nerve regeneration. GMSCs were isolated from human gingival tissue and characterized by surface antigen analysis and in vitro multipotent differentiation. The cell supernatant was collected to isolate the exosomes. The exosomes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Western blot, and size distribution analysis. The effects of exosomes on peripheral nerve regeneration in vitro were evaluated by coculture with Schwann cells and DRGs. The chitin conduit was prepared and combined with the exosomes to repair rat sciatic nerve defect. Histology, electrophysiology, and gait analysis were used to test the effects of exosomes on sciatic nerve function recovery in vivo. We have successfully cultured GMSCs and isolated exosomes. The exosomes from GMSCs could significantly promote Schwann cell proliferation and DRG axon growth. The in vivo studies showed that chitin conduit combined with exosomes from GMSCs could significantly increase the number and diameter of nerve fibers and promote myelin formation. In addition, muscle function, nerve conduction function, and motor function were also obviously recovered. In summary, this study suggests that GMSC-derived exosomes combined with biodegradable chitin conduits are a useful and novel therapeutic intervention in peripheral nerve repair.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
Davis B. Rippee ◽  
Gabriella E. Glassman ◽  
Sara C. Chaker ◽  
Patrick E. Assi ◽  
Jennifer Black ◽  
...  

Introduction: Peripheral nerve injuries commonly result from trauma and can lead to devastating loss of sensory and motor function. A novel strategy to improve peripheral nerve regeneration is a chemical fusogen known as polyethylene glycol (PEG). Several animal studies have illustrated PEG’s potential to help prevent axon loss after peripheral nerve injury. However, the relative rate of success and potential complications of these studies have not been definitively shown in the literature. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the literature regarding the success of PEG adjunct treatment after peripheral nerve injury in preclinical models. Materials and Methods: The MEDLINE database was queried using the PubMed search engine with the following keywords and phrases: “polyethylene glycol” OR “PEG” AND “nerve” AND “fusion”. All resulting articles were screened by two reviewers. Animal type, nerve type, injury type, type(s) of analyses, and overall superiority of outcomes were assessed. Results: One-hundred and seventy-nine articles were identified, and thirteen studies remained after the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Twelve of the thirteen studies utilized rats as the preclinical model, while one utilized a guinea pig. Superiority of peripheral nerve repair outcomes with adjunct PEG treatment compared to a control group was reported in eleven of thirteen studies. Conclusions: The majority of studies reported positive outcomes when using PEG; this indicates that PEG treatment has the potential to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration after injury. However, the results of some of these studies indicated several uncertainties that need to be addressed in future studies. These preclinical models may help guide clinicians regarding the use of PEG treatment in peripheral nerve repair.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feixiang Chen ◽  
Weihuang Liu ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
Ping Wu ◽  
Ao Xiao ◽  
...  

AbstractPeripheral nerve injury is a serious health problem and repairing long nerve deficits remains a clinical challenge nowadays. Nerve guidance conduit (NGC) serves as the most promising alternative therapy strategy to autografts but its repairing efficiency needs improvement. In this study, we investigated whether modulating the immune microenvironment by Interleukin-17F (IL-17F) could promote NGC mediated peripheral nerve repair. Chitosan conduits were used to bridge sciatic nerve defect in IL-17F knockout mice and wild-type mice with autografts as controls. Our data revealed that IL-17F knockout mice had improved functional recovery and axonal regeneration of sciatic nerve bridged by chitosan conduits comparing to the wild-type mice. Notably, IL-17F knockout mice had enhanced anti-inflammatory macrophages in the NGC repairing microenvironment. In vitro data revealed that IL-17F knockout peritoneal and bone marrow derived macrophages had increased anti-inflammatory markers after treatment with the extracts from chitosan conduits, while higher pro-inflammatory markers were detected in the Raw264.7 macrophage cell line, wild-type peritoneal and bone marrow derived macrophages after the same treatment. The biased anti-inflammatory phenotype of macrophages by IL-17F knockout probably contributed to the improved chitosan conduit guided sciatic nerve regeneration. Additionally, IL-17F could enhance pro-inflammatory factors production in Raw264.7 cells and wild-type peritoneal macrophages. Altogether, IL-17F may partially mediate chitosan conduit induced pro-inflammatory polarization of macrophages during nerve repair. These results not only revealed a role of IL-17F in macrophage function, but also provided a unique and promising target, IL-17F, to modulate the microenvironment and enhance the peripheral nerve regeneration.


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