Abstract
BackgroundThis study evaluated whether Schwann-like cells (SLCs) induced from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) transplanted into acellular nerve grafts (ANGs) could repair nerve defects compared with nerve isografts and ANGs with BM-MSCs.MethodsBM-MSCs extracted, separated and purified from the bone marrow of rats, and some of the BM-MSCs were cultured with mixed induction agents that could induce BM-MSCs into SLCs. Either SLCs or BM-MSCs were seeded onto 10-mm ANGs, and the isografts were chosen as the control. The walking-track test, tibialis anterior muscle weight measurement, electrophysiological examination, toluidine blue staining, transmission electron micrographs and immunostaining of S-100 and VEGF in these three groups were evaluated in a 10-mm rat sciatic injury-repair model.ResultsThe walking-track test, tibialis anterior muscle weight measurement and electrophysiological examination of the sciatic nerve suggested the groups of ANGs with SLCs and isografts obtained better results than the BM-MSC group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the results of the SLCs and isograft groups were similar (P > 0.05). All the histomorphometric analyses (toluidine blue staining, transmission electron micrographs and immunostaining of S-100 and VEGF) showed that there were more regenerating nerve fibers in the group of ANGs with SLCs than the BM-MSCs (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the SLC and isograft groups (P > 0.05).ConclusionsSLCs seeded in ANGs and isografts show better functional regeneration compared with BM-MSCs seeded in ANGs. Additionally, SLCs combined with ANGs present almost the same outcome as the isografts. Therefore, SLCs with ANGs can be a good choice in nerve defect repairs.
Highlights
This study evaluated whether Schwann-like cells (SLCs) induced from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) transplanted into acellular nerve grafts (ANGs) could repair nerve defects compared with nerve isografts and Acellular nerve graft (ANG) with Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC)
The Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) ultrastructural analysis further demonstrated that the axons and myelin sheath were absent in the acellular nerves and that the collagen fibers were arranged regularly to construct the wall of the basal lamina tubes, which exhibited granular shapes (Figure 1D)
Immunocytochemistry of SLCs We used the expression of S-100, which is a specific marker of Schwann cells, to estimate the characteristics of the SLCs
Summary
This study evaluated whether Schwann-like cells (SLCs) induced from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) transplanted into acellular nerve grafts (ANGs) could repair nerve defects compared with nerve isografts and ANGs with BM-MSCs. Trauma-induced peripheral nerve injuries affect approximately 2.8% of patients who undergo surgical intervention [1]. In many cases, patients who suffer peripheral nerve injuries experience a permanently impaired quality of life. To solve this medical issue, a range of studies and clinical trials have been performed to repair the nerve injuries. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs), a type of stromal cell present in the bone marrow, that possess multi-directional differentiation potential, have many clinical advantages, such as easy accessibility, rapid proliferation in culture and successful integration into the host tissue with a low immune response. Walsh et al [19] and Wang et al [20] demonstrated that SLCs derived from precursor cells and different stem cells, respectively, help promote peripheral nerve regeneration
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