Outer electrospun polycaprolactone shell induces massive foreign body reaction and impairs axonal regeneration through 3D multichannel chitosan nerve guides
Creators: name: Duda, Sven
name: Dreyer, Lutz
name: Behrens, Peter
name: Wienecke, Soenke
name: Chakradeo, Tanmay
name: Glasmacher, Birgit
name: Haastert-Talini, Kirsten
Publisher: name: New York, NY : Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Year: 2014
Subjects: subject: chitosan
subject: polycaprolactone
subject: biomaterial
subject: polyester
subject: adult
subject: animal experiment
subject: article
subject: automutilation
subject: controlled study
subject: electric field
subject: electrophysiological procedures
subject: electrospinning
subject: extracellular space
subject: female
subject: foreign body reaction
subject: freeze drying
subject: giant cell
subject: in vivo study
subject: microenvironment
subject: nerve fiber regeneration
subject: nerve transplantation
subject: nociception
subject: nonhuman
subject: peripheral nerve
subject: rat
subject: scanning electron microscopy
subject: sciatic nerve
subject: animal
subject: chemically induced
subject: convalescence
subject: drug effects
subject: electrodiagnosis
subject: inflammation
subject: motor activity
subject: muscle
subject: nerve fiber
subject: nerve regeneration
subject: organ size
subject: pathology
subject: pathophysiology
subject: procedures
subject: tissue regeneration
subject: tissue scaffold
subject: Wistar rat
subject: Animals
subject: Axons
subject: Biocompatible Materials
subject: Chitosan
subject: Electrodiagnosis
subject: Female
subject: Foreign-Body Reaction
subject: Guided Tissue Regeneration
subject: Inflammation
subject: Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
subject: Motor Activity
subject: Muscles
subject: Nerve Regeneration
subject: Organ Size
subject: Pain Perception
subject: Polyesters
subject: Rats, Wistar
subject: Recovery of Function
subject: Tissue Scaffolds
subject: Dewey Decimal Classification::600 | Technik
subject: Dewey Decimal Classification::600 | Technik::610 | Medizin, Gesundheit
subject: Dewey Decimal Classification::500 | Naturwissenschaften::570 | Biowissenschaften, Biologie

description: We report on the performance of composite nerve grafts with an inner 3D multichannel porous chitosan core and an outer electrospun polycaprolactone shell. The inner chitosan core provided multiple guidance channels for regrowing axons. To analyze the in vivo properties of the bare chitosan cores, we separately implanted them into an epineural sheath. The effects of both graft types on structural and functional regeneration across a 10 mm rat sciatic nerve gap were compared to autologous nerve transplantation (ANT). The mechanical biomaterial properties and the immunological impact of the grafts were assessed with histological techniques before and after transplantation in vivo. Furthermore during a 13-week examination period functional tests and electrophysiological recordings were performed and supplemented by nerve morphometry. The sheathing of the chitosan core with a polycaprolactone shell induced massive foreign body reaction and impairment of nerve regeneration. Although the isolated novel chitosan core did allow regeneration of axons in a similar size distribution as the ANT, the ANT was superior in terms of functional regeneration. We conclude that an outer polycaprolactone shell should not be used for the purpose of bioartificial nerve grafting, while 3D multichannel porous chitosan cores could be candidate scaffolds for structured nerve grafts.