Preparation of bioscaffolds delivering stem cells for neural regeneration

Abstract

Bioscaffolds have been proven for their feasibility in neural repair. Neural conduits have been investigated in the repair of wounded peripheral nerve and spinal cord. These conduits support axonal growth by providing structural guidance. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) that are induced from a patient’s own somatic cells have demonstrated significant neural cell differentiation capability and can circumvent immune system rejection. The combinatorial implantation of neural conduits and iPSCs may significantly enhance neural regeneration. The repair of nerves and spinal cords using biodegradable multichannel collagen conduits has been reported in our previous studies. In this review, we describe a method to fabricate a collagen neural conduit containing iPSC-derived neural cells.