Fabrication of microgroove poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nerve guide conduit using dry-jet wet spinning for rat laryngeal recurrent nerve regeneration

Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury is a serious complication of thyroidectomy. Here, the degradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nerve guide conduits (NGCs) with microgroove or smooth inner surface were fabricated using a phase inversion-based dry-jet wet spinning method for RLN regeneration. The morphology and mechanical properties of NGCs were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a universal testing machine, showing that the porous NGC has good mechanical properties and is suitable for implantation. Further, in vitro PC12 cells cultured on the NGCs showed that microgroove conduit (GNGC) exhibited better cell adhesion, proliferation, and cell orientation. Both smooth and microgroove conduit (SNGC and GNGC) were transplanted into Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat models for assessing the repair effect on the 5-mm RLN gap. The results showed that GNGC was superior to SNGC in nerve regeneration and had similar effects to the autograft group in reducing muscle atrophy and restoring target organ function. Therefore, the degradable NGCs combined with groove structure could guide the regeneration of injured RLN, promote the partial functional recovery of target organs Design (2022) and prevent secondary surgical injury. This study contributes to the design and fabrication of nerve guide conduits and the application of tissue engineering in the field of RLN injury repair. (c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

In this study, degradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nerve guide conduits with microgroove or smooth inner surface were fabricated using a phase inversion-based dry-jet wet spinning method for the regeneration of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). The results showed that the conduit with microgroove structure exhibited better cellular behavior and the ability to promote RLN regeneration in an animal model. This study contributes to the design and application of nerve guide conduits and tissue engineering in RLN injury repair.