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

Jiaying Cai; Hui Zhang; Yangnan Hu; Zhichun Huang; Yan Wang; Yu Xia; Xiaoyan Chen; Jiamin Guo; Hong Cheng; Lin Xia; Weicheng Lu; Chen Zhang; Jingdun Xie; Huan Wang; Renjie Chai

doi:10.1186/s12951-022-01669-2

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

J Nanobiotechnology. 2022 Oct 28;20(1):460. doi: 10.1186/s12951-022-01669-2.

Authors

Jiaying Cai^#¹, Hui Zhang^#¹, Yangnan Hu^#¹, Zhichun Huang^#¹, Yan Wang², Yu Xia², Xiaoyan Chen¹, Jiamin Guo¹, Hong Cheng¹, Lin Xia¹, Weicheng Lu³, Chen Zhang⁴, Jingdun Xie⁵, Huan Wang⁶, Renjie Chai^{7

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Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
² Chien-Shiung Wu College, Southeast university, Nanjing, China.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, Guangdong, China.
⁴ Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Collaborative Innovation for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, 510060, Guangdong, China. xiejd6@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
⁶ The Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518033, China. wangh679@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Advanced Institute for Life and Health, Jiangsu Province High Tech Key Laboratory for Bio-Medical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China. renjiec@seu.edu.cn.
⁸ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, 210008, China. renjiec@seu.edu.cn.
⁹ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China. renjiec@seu.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Co-Innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China. renjiec@seu.edu.cn.
¹¹ Institute for Stem Cell and Regeneration, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100086, China. renjiec@seu.edu.cn.
¹² Beijing Key Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Repair, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100069, China. renjiec@seu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) depends on microenvironment improvement and the reconnection between injured axons and regenerated neurons. Here, we fabricate a GelMA-MXene hydrogel nerve conduit with electrical conductivity and internal-facing longitudinal grooves and explore its function in SCI repair. It is found that the resultant grooved GelMA-MXene hydrogel could effectively promote the neural stem cells (NSCs) adhesion, directed proliferation and differentiation in vitro. Additionally, when the GelMA-MXene conduit loaded with NSCs (GMN) is implanted into the injured spinal cord site, effective repair capability for the complete transection of SCI was demonstrated. The GMN group shows remarkable nerve recovery and significantly higher BBB scores in comparison to the other groups. Therefore, GMN with the microgroove structure and loaded with NSCs is a promising strategy in treating SCI.

Keywords: Conductive hydrogel; MXene; Microgroove structure; Neural stem cells; Spinal cord injury.

MeSH terms

Humans
Hydrogels
Nerve Regeneration
Neural Stem Cells*
Spinal Cord Injuries* / therapy
Tissue Scaffolds / chemistry

Substances

Hydrogels

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

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