IL-1β-Activated Schwann Cells and Human Hair Keratin Compound Culture to Construct Artificial Nerve Bridging for Repair of Sciatic Nerve Defects in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Abstract

Human hair keratin (HHK) and interleukin (IL)-1β-Activated Schwann Cells and Human Hair Keratin Compound Culture to Construct Artificial Nerve Bridging for Repair of Sciatic Nerve Defects in Sprague-Dawley Rats-activated Schwann cells were combined to construct artificial nerves. End-to-end anastomosis of nerve defects could repair the sciatic nerve defect in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. In this study, a neural injury animal model was used to simulate the repair process of artificial nerves to repair peripheral nerve injury. We found that HHK can act as a biodegradable scaffold to induce Schwann cells to dedifferentiate and then activate macrophages through proliferation and secretion of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and other active substances. A large number of macrophages appeared in the nerve terminal after peripheral nerve injury, such as phagocytic and scavenging degeneration of axons and the myelin sheath. Peripheral nerve damage was also caused by secreting related factors of neurons and other non-neuronal cells, which are involved in a complex relationship. Among them, IL-1β-Activated Schwann Cells and Human Hair Keratin Compound Culture to Construct Artificial Nerve Bridging for Repair of Sciatic Nerve Defects in Sprague-Dawley Rats and other active substances can induce Schwann cells to divide, proliferate, and differentiate, showing high expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and other active substances, which can further activate macrophages and Schwann cells and promote nerve regeneration. This study describes HHK preparation and advantages, morphological changes of Schwann cells and macrophages in the process of nerve repair, expression of main active substances, and the effect of HHK artificial nerve implantation on animal nerve defect repair. We reveal a related mechanism of nerve repair. Funding Statement: The study was supported by the Medical Technique and Research of Guangdong Province, China (grant number A2017463); China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, China (grant number 2017M613432); Military medical science and technology youth training program (grant number 19QNP005) and Guangdong medical science and technology research foundation (grant number 2016102511210492). Declaration of Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exists. Ethical Approval Statement: The experimental protocols were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.