Electrical stimulation (ES) can dramatically enhance neurite outgrowth through conductive polymers and accelerate peripheral nerve regeneration in animal models of nerve injury. Therefore, conductive tissue engineering graft in combination with ES is a potential treatment for neural injuries. Conductive tissue engineering graft can be obtained by seeding Schwann cells on conductive scaffold. However, when ES is applied through the conductive scaffold, the impact of ES on Schwann cells has never been investigated. In this study, a biodegradable conductive composite made of conductive polypyrrole (PPy, 2.5%) and biodegradable chitosan (97.5%) was prepared in order to electrically stimulate Schwann cells. The tolerance of Schwann cells to ES was examined by a cell apoptosis assay. The growth of the cells was characterized using DAPI staining and a MTT assay. mRNA and protein levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Schwann cells were assayed by RT-PCR and Western blotting, and the amount of NGF and BDNF secreted was determined by an ELISA assay. The results showed that the PPy/chitosan membranes supported cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation with or without ES. Interestingly, ES applied through the PPy/chitosan composite dramatically enhanced the expression and secretion of NGF and BDNF when compared with control cells without ES. These findings highlight for the first time the possibility of enhancing nerve regeneration in conductive scaffolds through ES-increased neurotrophin secretion.

Production of nerve growth factor (NGF) from Schwann cells (SCs) progressively declines in the distal stump, if axonal regeneration is staggered across the suture site after peripheral nerve injuries. This may be an important factor limiting the outcome of nerve injury repair. Thus far, extensive efforts are devoted to modulating NGF production in cultured SCs, but little has been achieved. In the present in vitro study, electrical stimulation (ES) was attempted to stimulate cultured SCs to release NGF. Our data showed that ES was capable of enhancing NGF release from cultured SCs. An electrical field (1 Hz, 5 V/cm) caused a 4.1-fold increase in NGF release from cultured SCs. The ES-induced NGF release is calcium dependent. Depletion of extracellular or/and intracellular calcium partially/ completely abolished the ES-induced NGF release. Further pharmacological interventions showed that ES induces calcium influx through T-type voltage-gated calcium channels and mobilizes calcium from 1, 4, 5-trisphosphate-sensitive stores and caffeine/ryanodine-sensitive stores, both of which contributed to the enhanced NGF release induced by ES. In addition, a calcium-triggered exocytosis mechanism was involved in the ES-induced NGF release from cultured SCs. These findings show the feasibility of using ES in stimulating SCs to release NGF, which holds great potential in promoting nerve regeneration by enhancing survival and outgrowth of damaged nerves, and is of great significance in nerve injury repair and neuronal tissue engineering.

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