The Use of Chitosan-Based Scaffolds to Enhance Regeneration in the Nervous System - International Review of Neurobiology - page 25

BMSCs ( Chen et al., 2011; Wang, Wen, Lan, & Li, 2010 ) and radial glial
cells ( Nomura et al., 2010 ), in combination with chitosan scaffold, have been
successfully used to promote SCI repair.
3.3. Chitosan conduits combined with neurotrophic factors or
neuroprotective molecules for CNS repair
Chitosan conduits combined with neurotrophic factors or neuroprotective
molecules have been used for SCI repair as summarized in Table 1.4 .
Recently, the neuroprotective effects of Atorvastatin, a drug used as a cho-
lesterol lowering agent in patients, are becoming the focus of many research
studies. Interestingly, chitosan microspheres containing Atorvastatin calcium
have been successfully used to improve the functional outcome in an exper-
imental SCI model ( Eroglu et al., 2010 ). Moreover, nogo-66 receptor pro-
tein, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), EGFs, and platelet-derived
growth factor have been successfully used in combination with NSPCs for
SCI repair ( Guo et al., 2012 ).
4. CHITOSAN FOR PERIPHERAL NERVOUS
SYSTEM REPAIR
The clinical treatment of large peripheral nerve defects requires bridg-
ing the defect that is usually accomplished by means of an autologous nerve
graft. However, nerve autografting has various drawbacks such as sacrificing
of a healthy functioning nerve resulting in donor site morbidity, size and
quality mismatch, and possible neuroma formation at the donor site. Allo-
grafts using nerves from other individuals or animals require an additional
immunosuppressant treatment. Various artificial materials have been used
as scaffolds for nerve regeneration including chitosan, either alone or in
combination with other materials.
In this context, chitosan is an attractive material because of its mechanical
strength, porosity, biodegradability, and biocompatibility, and thus, it has
been recently used for repairing nerve injury, either alone or in combination
with other biomaterials ( Table 1.5 ), adhesion molecules ( Table 1.6 ), cells
( Table 1.7 ), or growth factors ( Table 1.8 ).
A number of in vivo studies suggested that chitosan conduits are promising
candidates as supporting material for tissue engineering application in periph-
eral nerve reconstruction ( Huang, Lu, et al., 2010; Ishikawa et al., 2007; Lauto
et al., 2007, 2008;Marcol et al., 2011;Matsumoto et al., 2010; Patel et al., 2006;
Rickett et al., 2011; Rosales-Cortes, Peregrina-Sandoval, Banuelos-Pineda,