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Artificial collagen-filament scaffold promotes axon regeneration and long tract reconstruction in a rat model of spinal cord transection

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Abstract

Traumatically injured spinal cord (SC) displays structural damage that includes discontinuity of long tracts and cavitations. Axonal regrowth beyond the lesion is necessary to achieve functional recovery following SC injury. We report here the development of an artificial collagen-filament (CF) scaffold to replace the SC in 8-week-old female Fisher rats. Axonal sprouting and regrowth was very rapid following grafting of the CF. One week after implantation, the scaffold was filled with cells of host origin and with regenerated axons. Histological examination of SC adjacent to the scaffold showed little cavity formation or fibrous scarring. Eight weeks after implantation, myelinated nerve fibers were found in the scaffold and 10–25 % of rubrospinal tracts were repaired. Four to six weeks after transplantation, motor evoked potentials were recorded in CF-grafted rats but were not detectable in non-grafted rats. Electrophysiological and histological examinations revealed the grafted CF was likely to function as a nerve tract. In addition, these results suggest that collagen fibers may provide a permissive microenvironment for the elongation of SC axons and to support the process of spinal cord regeneration.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jun Kawano (Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan) for insightful discussions and for technical advice on the analysis of tracing study results. This work was supported by grants-in-aid for Young Scientific Research B (20791045) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of Japan.

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest regarding this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, 1-1-1 Minami-kogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan

    Hidenori Suzuki, Tsukasa Kanchiku, Yasuaki Imajo, Yuichiro Yoshida, Norihiro Nishida & Toshihiko Taguchi

  2. Department of Surgical Pathology, Fujisawa City Hospital, Fujisawa, Japan

    Toshikazu Gondo

  3. Department of Rehabilitation, Osaka Red Cross Hospital, Osaka, Japan

    Satoru Yoshii

Authors
  1. Hidenori Suzuki
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  2. Tsukasa Kanchiku
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  3. Yasuaki Imajo
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  4. Yuichiro Yoshida
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  5. Norihiro Nishida
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  6. Toshikazu Gondo
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  7. Satoru Yoshii
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  8. Toshihiko Taguchi
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Correspondence to Hidenori Suzuki.

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Suzuki, H., Kanchiku, T., Imajo, Y. et al. Artificial collagen-filament scaffold promotes axon regeneration and long tract reconstruction in a rat model of spinal cord transection. Med Mol Morphol 48, 214–224 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-015-0104-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-015-0104-5

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