Cell culture supernatant of olfactory ensheathing cells promotes nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injury in rats / 中国组织工程研究

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found that the culture supernatant of the olfactory ensheathing cells is capable of promoting axonal regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury, but there is a lack of research in the field of peripheral nerve. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether olfactory ensheathing cell culture supernatant is beneficial for nerve repair after peripheral nerve injury. METHODS: Olfactory ensheathing cells were isolated and purified, to prepare the supernatant. The olfactory ensheathing cell culture supernatant was applied to the dorsal root ganglion tissue block in vitro to observe the axon growth of the dorsal root ganglion. The olfactory ensheathing cell culture supernatant was applied to a rat sciatic nerve defect model in vivo to examine its effect on axonal regeneration and myelinization of the injured nerve. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The purity of olfactory ensheathing cells was (94.4±3.1)%. Compared with the blank control and low dose olfactory ensheathing cell culture groups, the average length of five longest axons in dorsal root ganglion tissue mass in the high dose olfactory ensheathing cells culture group was significantly increased (P < 0.05). Immunofluorescence showed that the regenerated nerve penetrated through the defect area and the regenerated nerve was arranged orderly in the olfactory ensheathing cell culture and the autologous nerve groups, which was significantly superior to that in the blank control group. Transmission electron microscope observed that the number of regenerated nerve axons and the thickness of myelin sheath in the olfactory ensheathing cell culture group were significantly higher than those in the blank control group (P < 0.05). These results indicate that the supernatant of the olfactory ensheathing cells can promote axonal regeneration after peripheral nerve injury and the myelination of the regenerated axons, which provides a new olfactory ensheathing cells-based acellular therapy for peripheral nerve injury.