Sciatic Nerve Regeneration by Differentiation ofHuman Uterine Endometrial Derived Mesenchymal S temCells into Nerve-like Cells Using Polyacrylonitrile/ChitosanConduit

Objective: One of the prevalent human disabilities is peripheralnerve damage. Sciatic nerve injury is a tremendously useful model for s tudying nerve regeneration. Today, one of themos t modern methods for treating this complication is tissueengineering. In tissue engineering, in addition to s tem cells,Conduits are of great importance. Conduits are a subs trate forcell attachment, migration, and differentiation in the developingtissue. One of the considered methods in preparing Conduits iselectrospinning. There are many kinds of biomaterials for tissueengineering, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Also, Chitosanis a natural polymer that can modify the properties of the Conduit.The present s tudy aimed to use nerve-like cells (NLCs)derived from human uterine mesenchymal s tem cells on polyacrylonitrile/chitosan conduit for sciatic nerve regeneration.Materials and Methods: In this s tudy, the PAN Conduit wasprepared by an electrospinning method. The properties of theConduit were examined by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Mesenchymal s tem cells were extracted from humanendometrial tissue (EnMSCs), and their identity was confirmedby flow cytometry. Then EnMSCs were seeded in chitosan hydrogel,cultured in conduit, and differentiated into nerve-likecells using FGF, EGF, and factor B۲۷ for ۱۴ days. Twenty-onemale adult Wis tar rats (۲۰۰-۲۵۰ g) were used in this s tudy. Sciaticnerve injury was performed on all three groups. Groupsincluded: ۱- control group without any treatment, ۲- conduit,۳- conduit/NLCs. After eight weeks, a sciatic functional index(SFI) and a his tological examination were used to determinenerve regeneration.Results: The results showed that EnMSCs differentiated intonerve cells under our differential condition and the presence ofchitosan with significant efficiencies was observed. The expressionof markers such as Nes tin, Map۲, Tuj-۱, and NF confirmedneuronal induction in these cells. Also, electrospinning of PANpolymer was a suitable method for preparing a conduit, andEnMSCs were attached to this conduit with a high number andsurvival. These cells can grow and differentiate on this biocompatiblepolymer under suitable conditions. In the his tologicals tudy, the number of axons was higher in the treated groupscompared to the control group. Also, a significant difference inthe SFI was observed between the conduit/NLCs group and thecontrol group.Conclusion: The present s tudy showed that using tissue engineeringto compensate and treat neurological complicationssuch as peripheral nerve injuries will be effective.

کلیدواژه ها:

Conduit ، Mesenchymal S tem Cells ، Neural TissueEngineering ، Sciatic Nerve Injury ،