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- Neuron to network: a unique implant will restore nerves after severe injuries
Neuron to network: a unique implant will restore nerves after severe injuries
Russian scientists are creating an artificial nerve that can not only connect damaged areas, but also direct the growth of new fibers. The implant, developed by bioengineers, mimics key elements of the natural structure of a nerve and creates a kind of "framework" for cells to repair, and then gradually dissolves in the body. Due to this, the technology can improve the efficiency of recovery of motor functions and sensitivity. First of all, it will find application in reconstructive surgery and neurosurgery for the treatment of patients with severe limb injuries, experts told Izvestia. However, the development is still at an early stage: scientists will have to confirm its effectiveness and safety in preclinical and clinical studies.
Artificial nerve creation technology
The Institute of Biomedical Engineering at NUST MISIS has developed a technology for creating nerve conduits, biomimetic implants that will help restore peripheral nerves in the future. Unlike existing analogues in the world, such products do not just connect damaged areas, but reproduce key elements of the structure and create a guiding environment for cell growth. An innovative technique for processing the surface of synthetic fibers has significantly increased the number of neurons that attach and orient themselves to them.
As scientists explained to Izvestia, the restoration of peripheral nerves is one of the most difficult tasks of reconstructive surgery. With large-scale damage, doctors usually transplant a section of their own nerve to the patient. Autotransplantation is considered the "gold standard", however, it requires additional surgical intervention, increases the duration of the operation and leads to injury to healthy tissues. Therefore, artificial materials capable of replacing the patient's tissues are being searched all over the world.
If nerve fibers are damaged, their individual bundles must be properly connected, and then conditions must be created so that the cells can gain a foothold and grow in the right direction. In the development of the MISIS bioengineers, these tasks are combined in a single tubular implant: it allows the ends of the damaged nerve to be connected more precisely, helps the cells to attach to the surface of the guiding elements of the conduit and thus orients the growth of new fibers. At the same time, the implant is closer in its design to the natural anatomical structure than most existing solutions in the world.
— The principle of operation of the conduit is that the ends of the damaged nerve are placed inside an external frame tube, which creates a protective space for tissue repair. At the same time, for example, concentric channels or oriented polymer fibers can be located inside, which form a given microarchitecture and help direct the growth of nerve cells," said Igor Blagov, one of the authors of the development, a laboratory researcher at the NUST MISIS Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.
Bioresorbable polymers are used to create such conduits. As the tissues recover, such an implant will gradually dissolve and eventually be completely eliminated from the body.
— Low cellular adhesion to synthetic materials becomes a common problem when working with nerve cell cultures, which complicates and slows down any regenerative processes. To improve the interaction of the structure with the cells, we modified the surface of the polymer fibers with a polydophamine coating, and additionally stabilized it with maleic acid and pretreatment. This strategy has significantly increased the ability of neurons to attach to fibers and navigate along them, which creates the prerequisites for more efficient tissue regeneration," said Polina Kovaleva, associate professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at NUST MISIS.
The technology is completing laboratory tests, and a patent application has been filed. The next stage is prototyping and evaluation of effectiveness in preclinical studies.
Who will benefit from the new implant
According to Alevtina Chernikova, Rector of NUST MISIS, university scientists have been conducting research for several years within the framework of the strategic technological project "Biomedical Engineering and Biomaterials", implemented under the state program "Priority 2030". The technologies being developed are designed to facilitate the treatment of various diseases and improve the quality of life of patients.
Such an implant solves one of the key problems of nerve repair: cells need not just a "bridge", but a suitable environment for directed growth, explained molecular biologist Arina Kholkina to Izvestia. A nerve is a bundle of the thinnest fibers that run parallel to each other. If their growth is directed incorrectly during recovery, it will not be possible to restore sensitivity and motor function. The internal channels and oriented fibers in the design give the neurons the right direction.
— The approach will find application in limb injuries, facial nerve damage, neuropathies after surgery and removal of tumors, restoration of sensitivity after wounds. Conduits made of collagen and polycaprolactone are already being produced in the world, but they are mostly hollow tubes without an internal guiding structure. Here, the architecture is closer to the real nerve, and the material is completely absorbed. If preclinical tests confirm the result, such implants will be able to replace the transplantation of their own nerve and save patients from additional surgery," the specialist said.
This technology is a very promising area in regenerative medicine, said Alexander Zakharov, Director of the Research Institute of Neuroscience at Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, market expert at NTI Neuronet.
— There are analogues in the world: hollow tubular conduits made of collagen or synthetic polymers, which serve only as a framework for fusion, are on the market. However, unlike them, the Russian development reproduces the internal microarchitecture of the nerve — concentric channels that allow you to maintain the original orientation of the fibers during regeneration, — said the expert.
At the same time, so far we are talking about a promising experimental technology: the presented prototype has passed only the laboratory stage of testing, said Larisa Volova, director of the Biotech Research Institute of the Russian Ministry of Health, NTI Helsnet market expert, Professor, in a conversation with Izvestia. According to her, if preclinical and then clinical studies confirm that the degradation products of the implant do not cause a negative reaction of the surrounding tissues, and such a conduit architecture provides a full restoration of sensitivity and motor function with extensive nerve defects, the technology can really become a serious alternative to existing treatment methods.
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