GelMA‑MXene hydrogel nerve conduits with microgrooves for spinal cord injury repair

Journal of Nanobiotechnology, 2022 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-022-01669-2 · Published: September 25, 2022

Simple Explanation

Spinal cord injury often results in loss of physical function. This research aims to improve nerve regeneration by using a special hydrogel. The hydrogel, made of GelMA and MXene, has microgrooves to guide nerve cell growth and electrical conductivity to support nerve signals. When this hydrogel is implanted with neural stem cells into a damaged spinal cord, it can effectively repair the injury.

Study Duration

8 Weeks

Participants

Sprague Dawley (SD) rats (male, 350–400 g)

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
The grooved GelMA-MXene hydrogel promotes neural stem cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation in vitro.
2
The GelMA-MXene conduit loaded with NSCs (GMN) demonstrates effective repair capability for complete transection of SCI.
3
The GMN group showed significantly higher BBB scores in comparison to the other groups, indicating remarkable nerve recovery.

Research Summary

This study introduces a GelMA-MXene hydrogel nerve conduit with microgrooves for spinal cord injury (SCI) repair, capitalizing on the electrical conductivity of MXene and the cell-guiding properties of microgrooves. In vitro experiments demonstrated enhanced neural stem cell (NSC) adhesion, directed proliferation, and differentiation when using the grooved GelMA-MXene hydrogel. In vivo results indicated that implanting the GelMA-MXene conduit loaded with NSCs (GMN) into injured spinal cord sites led to effective SCI repair and improved nerve recovery.

Practical Implications

Potential Therapeutic Strategy

GMN with microgroove structure and NSCs is a promising strategy for treating SCI.

Advancement in Neural Tissue Engineering

The conductive scaffolds can increase possibilities for applications in neural tissue engineering.

Clinical SCI Treatment

The GelMA-MXene complex functional conduit with microgroove structures have great potential in clinical SCI treatment.

Study Limitations

1
The main reason resulting in this difference may be that the light impermeability of MXene affected the GelMA hydrogel crosslinking to a certain extent.
2
Further research may be needed to optimize the concentration of MXene to maximize its benefits while minimizing any adverse impacts.
3
Not specified

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