Enhanced sciatic nerve regeneration with fibrin scaffold containing human endometrial stem cells and insulin encapsulated chitosan particles: An in vivo study

Background: Based on recent advances in tissue engineering and stem cell therapy in nervous system diseases treatments, this study aimed to investigate sciatic nerve regeneration using human endometrial stem cells (hEnSCs) encapsulated fibrin gel containing chitosan nanoparticle loaded by insulin (Ins-CPs). Stem cells and also Insulin (Ins), which is a strong signaling molecule in peripheral nerve regeneration, play an important role in neural tissue engineering. Methods: The fibrin hydrogel scaffold containing insulin loaded chitosan particles was synthesized and characterized. Release profiles of insulin from hydrogel was determined through UV-visible spectroscopy. Also, human endometrial stem cells encapsulated in hydrogel and its cell biocompatibility were assigned. Furthermore, the sciatic nerve crush injury was carried out and prepared fibrin gel was injected at the crush injury site by an 18-gage needle. Eight and twelve weeks later, the recovery of motor and sensory function and histopathological evaluation were assessed. Results: The in vitro experiments showed that the insulin can promote hEnSCs proliferation within a cer-tain concentration range. Animals' treatment confirmed that developed fibrin gel containing Ins-CPs and hEnSCs significantly improves motor function and sensory recovery. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) im-ages provided from cross-sectional and, longitudinal-sections of the harvested regenerative nerve showed that regenerative nerve fibers had been formed and accompanied with new blood vessels in the fib-rin/insulin/hEnSCs group. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that the prepared hydrogel scaffolds containing insulin nanopar-ticles and hEnSCs could be considered as a potential biomaterial aimed at regeneration of sciatic nerves. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigated the regeneration of sciatic nerves using human endometrial stem cells (hEnSCs) encapsulated in fibrin gel containing chitosan nanoparticles loaded with insulin (Ins-CPs). The results demonstrated that the combination of these nanoparticles and stem cells significantly improved motor function and sensory recovery.