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Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Containing Electrospun Fibers for Nerve Regeneration: A Comparison Between Core–Shell Structured and Preblended Composites

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Abstract

Advanced biomaterial-based strategies for treatment of peripheral nerve injury require precise control over both topological and biological cues for facilitating rapid and directed nerve regeneration. As a highly bioactive and tissue-specific natural material, decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) derived from peripheral nerves (decellularized nerve matrix, DNM) has drawn increasing attention in the field of regenerative medicine, due to its outstanding capabilities in facilitating neurite outgrowth and remyelination. To induce and maintain sufficient topological guidance, electrospinning was conducted for fabrication of axially aligned nanofibers consisting of DNM and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). Core–shell structured fibers were prepared by coaxial electrospinning using DNM as the shell and PCL as the core. Compared to the aligned electrospun fibers using preblended DNM/PCL, the core–shell structured fibers exhibited lower tensile strength, faster degradation, but considerable toughness for nerve guidance conduit preparation and relatively intact fibrous structure after long-term degradation. More importantly, the full DNM surface coverage of the aligned core–shell fibers effectively promoted axonal extension and Schwann cells migration. The DNM contents further triggered neurite bundling and myelin formation toward nerve fiber maturation and functionalization. Herein, we not only pursue a multi-functional scaffold design for nerve regeneration, a detailed comparison between core–shell structured and preblended electrospinning of DNM/PCL composites was also provided as an applicable paradigm for advanced tissue-engineered strategies using dECM-based biomaterials.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Hong Zhai for her technical support in material characterizations. This work was funded by National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFC1106001), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51903255 and 52073314), The Key Areas Research and Development Program of Guangdong (2020B1111150003 and 2019B020235001), Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou City (201904010364).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PCFM Lab, GD HPPC Lab, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Rongli Deng, Zudong Lin, Shihao Chen & Daping Quan

  2. Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Centre for Functional Biomaterials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Ziling Luo, Zilong Rao, Jing Zhou, Ying Bai & Daping Quan

  3. Guangdong Peripheral Nerve Tissue Engineering and Technology Research Center, Department of Orthopedic and Microsurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Qingtang Zhu & Xiaolin Liu

  4. Guangdong Provincial Soft Tissue Biofabrication Engineering Laboratory, Guangdong, Guangzhou, 510080, China

    Qingtang Zhu & Ying Bai

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  1. Rongli Deng
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Deng, R., Luo, Z., Rao, Z. et al. Decellularized Extracellular Matrix Containing Electrospun Fibers for Nerve Regeneration: A Comparison Between Core–Shell Structured and Preblended Composites. Adv. Fiber Mater. 4, 503–519 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-021-00124-5

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