Galway based scientists, working with international partners, have detailed a new technique to repair and restore function to injury-ravaged nerve tissue.
The scientists set out to discover whether new methods to fix damaged nerve tissue could be identified, as the injury can cause irreversible loss of motor and sensory function, chronic pain and long-term disability for patients.
The research team at CÚRAM, the Taighde Éireann-Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices based at University of Galway, along with colleagues from Queen Mary University of London and the Mayo Clinic in the US, have published findings of the study in the prestigious journal Cell Biomaterials.
The team reviewed current approaches for repair of nerve tissue, including autografts, which are made from a patient’s own nerve tissue; artificial nerve guides or scaffolds, which guide the growth of new nerve tissue; and gene therapy, which would essentially enable new growth.
The research led to the development of a collagen-based, neural guidance conduit that embeds and releases specific proteins, which promote the survival and development of neurons at the site of injury to promote nerve regeneration.
Dr Secil Demir, scientist with CÚRAM and lead author on the study, said that repairing nerve tissue represents a major technical challenge.
“Our process was a case of putting together the pieces of a puzzle, based on data generated from years of previous research, to really understand how nerve tissue regenerates and what exactly is missing at the injury site, that prevents its repair and regeneration.”
“Then we considered all of the current treatment approaches to see if we could address some of the limitations to treating these injuries.”
The treatment system uses proteins which assist with neuronal survival, growth and blood vessel development.
Dr Demir said, “Collaboration with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic in reviewing data from previous studies led us to a combination of the geneserythropoietin (EPO) gene and nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that promotes the survival and development of neurons.”
“We were able to figure out the best ratio of EPO and NGF to accelerate nerve regeneration and improve functional recovery in larger nerve injuries.”
The model developed by the research team in the lab enables continuous, targeted release of protein within the repair zone to help nerves regenerate. This is the first time that this specific method has been used to achieve nerve and blood vessel activation in a large injury.
Professor Abhay Pandit, senior author and Scientific Director of CÚRAM, said, “Integration of this protein-delivery strategy into a clinically validated collagen conduit, addresses some of the core limitations of traditional neural guidance conduits, including limited translation beyond short-gap injuries.”
“These findings align with the growing body of work on biomaterial systems that help regenerate complex tissue, and we are excited to look at the next stage of this research.”
