Biomaterial-Based bFGF Delivery for Nerve Repair

Abstract

Diseases in the nervous system are common in the human body. People have to suffer a great burden due to huge economic costs and poor prognosis of the diseases. Many treatment modalities are now available that can make recovery better. Managing nutritional factors is also helpful for such diseases. The basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is one of the major nutritional factors, which plays a crucial role in organogenesis and tissue homeostasis. It plays a role in cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation, thereby regulating angiogenesis and wound healing and repair of the muscle, bone, and nerve. The study on how to improve the stability of bFGF to increase the treatment effect for different diseases has garnered tremendous attention. Biomaterials are the popular methods to improve the stability of bFGF because they are safe for the living body as they are biocompatible. Biomaterials can be loaded with bFGF and delivered locally to achieve the goal of sustained bFGF release. In the present review, we report different types of biomaterials that are used for bFGF delivery for nerve repair and briefly report how the introduced bFGF can function in the nervous system. We aim to provide summative guidance for future studies about nerve injury using bFGF.

Duct ligation/de-ligation model: exploring mechanisms for salivary gland injury and regeneration

“…Zaia et al demonstrated that retrograde transduction of bFGF post-duct de-ligation stimulates acinar and ductal cell proliferation, promoting regeneration in rat SMG ( Okazaki, et al, 2000 ). bFGF is a highly bioactive peptide growth factor that promotes cell proliferation in the G0 and G1 phases ( Liu, et al, 2021 ; Huang, et al, 2023 ). Furthermore, the EGF signaling pathway has been shown to be activated during gland regeneration; the SMG is considered the most important organ for circulating EGF production ( Tsutsumi, et al, 1986 ; Cho, et al, 2021 ).…”