The role of chitin and chitosan in peripheral nerve reconstruction

Bąk, Michał; Gutkowska, Olga; Wagner, Ewa; Gosk, Jerzy

doi:10.17219/pim/75653

Cited by 29 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide that has been demonstrated to be a good biomaterial with a wide range of biomedical and tissue engineering applications [ 10 , 11 ] due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, and bioactivity. In recent studies its regenerative properties have been demonstrated in both standard and critical length nerve reconstruction [ 10 , 12 , 13 ]. These promising preclinical results confirmed that chitosan is a suitable biomaterial for peripheral nerve regeneration and in 2014 chitosan tubes have been accepted for clinical use (Reaxon ® Nerve Guide, Medovent GmbH, Mainz, Germany).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chitosan Tubes Enriched with Fresh Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Primary Nerve Repair

Ronchi

Fornasari

Crosio

et al. 2018

BioMed Research International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Muscle-in-vein conduit is successfully employed for repairing nerve injuries: the vein prevents muscle fiber dispersion, while the muscle prevents the vein collapse and creates a favorable environment for Schwann cell migration and axon regrowth. However, it requires microsurgical skills. In this study we show a simple strategy to improve the performance of a chitosan hollow tube by the introduction of fresh skeletal muscle fibers. The hypothesis is to overcome the technical issue of the muscle-in-vein preparation and to take advantage of fiber muscle properties to create an easy and effective conduit for nerve regeneration. Rat median nerve gaps were repaired with chitosan tubes filled with skeletal muscle fibers (muscle-in-tube graft), hollow chitosan tubes, or autologous nerve grafts. Our results demonstrate that the fresh skeletal muscle inside the conduit is an endogenous source of soluble Neuregulin 1, a key factor for Schwann cell survival and dedifferentiation, absent in the hollow tube during the early phase of regeneration. However, nerve regeneration assessed at late time point was similar to that obtained with the hollow tube. To conclude, the musclein-tube graft is surgically easy to perform and we suggest that it might be a promising strategy to repair longer nerve gap or for secondary nerve repair, situations in which Schwann cell atrophy is a limiting factor for recovery.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chitosan Tubes Enriched with Fresh Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Primary Nerve Repair

Ronchi

Fornasari

Crosio

et al. 2018

BioMed Research International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Analysis of the structural and physicochemical properties of this amino polysaccharide can be performed using a range of modern instrumentation [ 22 ]; and several review articles covering this biopolymer have been published recently [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. There are no doubts that chitin (even without its derivative chitosan) is still of interest for applications as an adsorbent [ 23 , 26 ] and biomaterial for biomedical aims; for example, reconstruction of peripheral nerves or wound management [ 24 , 25 , 27 ]. It is worth noting here that thus far, only chitin of fungal and arthropod origins can be isolated on industrial scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Report on Chitin in a Non-Verongiid Marine Demosponge: The Mycale euplectellioides Case

Żółtowska-Aksamitowska

Shaala

Youssef

et al. 2018

Marine Drugs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sponges (Porifera) are recognized as aquatic multicellular organisms which developed an effective biochemical pathway over millions of years of evolution to produce both biologically active secondary metabolites and biopolymer-based skeletal structures. Among marine demosponges, only representatives of the Verongiida order are known to synthetize biologically active substances as well as skeletons made of structural polysaccharide chitin. The unique three-dimensional (3D) architecture of such chitinous skeletons opens the widow for their recent applications as adsorbents, as well as scaffolds for tissue engineering and biomimetics. This study has the ambitious goal of monitoring other orders beyond Verongiida demosponges and finding alternative sources of naturally prestructured chitinous scaffolds; especially in those demosponge species which can be cultivated at large scales using marine farming conditions. Special attention has been paid to the demosponge Mycale euplectellioides (Heteroscleromorpha: Poecilosclerida: Mycalidae) collected in the Red Sea. For the first time, we present here a detailed study of the isolation of chitin from the skeleton of this sponge, as well as its identification using diverse bioanalytical tools. Calcofluor white staining, Fourier-transform Infrared Spcetcroscopy (FTIR), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fluorescence microscopy, as well as a chitinase digestion assay were applied in order to confirm with strong evidence the finding of a-chitin in the skeleton of M. euplectellioides. We suggest that the discovery of chitin within representatives of the Mycale genus is a promising step in their evaluation of these globally distributed sponges as new renewable sources for both biologically active metabolites and chitin, which are of prospective use for pharmacology and biomaterials oriented biomedicine, respectively.

show abstract

“…Chitin is a biopolymer present in the shells of crustaceans and cuticle of and exoskeleton of arthropods [119]. Chitosan can be obtained from the chitin, by a process of partial deacetylation [120] commercially available by alkaline hydrolysis [121], and can be found in nature in some fungi [122].…”

Section: Chitosanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The combined approaches aim to speed up the regenerative process and to decrease the secondary effects related to the degradation of chitosan. The chitosan polymer and its short chains do not cause an inflammatory response [135], but the fragments of its degradation can cause inflammation, leading to apoptosis of the regenerating cells and proliferation of fibrous tissue around the NGCs [119].…”

Section: Chitosanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In June 2014, a commercial product was launched consisting of a chitosan-based nerve conduit with the name Reaxon ® Nerve Guide, manufactured by Medovent GmbH (Mainz, Germany) and following the international standard DIN EN ISO 13485 [119]. The Reaxon ® is flexible and resistant to collapse, and transparent, which facilitates the insertion of the nerve ends and the application of the anchoring sutures.…”

Section: Chitosanmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Biomaterials and Cellular Systems at the Forefront of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Alvites¹,

Branquinho²,

Caseiro³

et al. 2020

Peripheral Nerve Disorders and Treatment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Peripheral nerve injuries remain a common clinical complication, and currently available therapies present significant limitations, often resulting in poor and suboptimal outcomes. Despite significant developments in microsurgical approaches in the last decades, no effective treatment options have been disclosed. Current research focuses on the optimization of such microsurgical techniques and on their combination with other pro-regenerative factors, such as mesenchymal stem cells or biomaterials. Mesenchymal stem cells present a remarkable capacity for bioactive molecule production that modulates inflammatory and regenerative processes, stimulating peripheral nerve regeneration. In parallel, efforts have been directed towards the development of biomaterial nerve guidance channels and nerve conduits. These biomaterials have been optimized in terms of biodegradability, ability to release bioactive factors, incorporation of cellular agents, and internal matrix architecture (to enable cellular migration and mimic native tissue morphology and to generate and bear specific electrical activity). The current literature review presents relevant advances in the development of mesenchymal stem cell and biomaterial-based therapeutic approaches aiming at the peripheral nerve tissue regeneration in diverse lesion scenarios, also exploring the advances achieved by our research group in this field in recent years.

show abstract

The role of chitin and chitosan in peripheral nerve reconstruction

Cited by 29 publications

References 27 publications

Chitosan Tubes Enriched with Fresh Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Primary Nerve Repair

Chitosan Tubes Enriched with Fresh Skeletal Muscle Fibers for Primary Nerve Repair

First Report on Chitin in a Non-Verongiid Marine Demosponge: The Mycale euplectellioides Case

Biomaterials and Cellular Systems at the Forefront of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About