RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Plant Scaffolds Support Motor Recovery and Regeneration in Rats after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.10.21.347807
DO 10.1101/2020.10.21.347807
A1 Daniel J. Modulevsky
A1 Charles M. Cuerrier
A1 Maxime Leblanc-Latour
A1 Ryan J. Hickey
A1 Ras-Jeevan K. Obhi
A1 Isabel Shore
A1 Ahmad Galuta
A1 Krystal L. A. Walker
A1 Eve C. Tsai
A1 Andrew E. Pelling
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/10/24/2020.10.21.347807.abstract
AB As of yet, no standard of care incorporates the use of a biomaterial to treat traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI)1–5. However, intense development of biomaterials for treating SCI have focused on the fabrication of microscale channels to support the regrowth of axons while minimizing scar tissue formation6–10. We previously demonstrated that plant tissues can be decellularized and processed to form sterile, biocompatible and implantable biomaterials that support cell infiltration and vascularization in vivo11–13. Notably, the vascular bundles of plant tissues are also composed of microscale channels with geometries thought to be relevant for supporting neural tissue regeneration9,14. We hypothesized that decellularized vascular bundles would support neural regeneration and the recovery of motor function. Therefore, rats which received a complete T8-T9 spinal cord transection were implanted with plant-derived channeled scaffolds. Animals which received the scaffolds alone, with no therapeutic stem cells or other interventions, demonstrated a significant and stable improvement in motor function over six months compared to controls. Histological analysis reveals minimal scarring and axonal regrowth through the scaffolds, further confirmed with tracer studies. Taken together, our work defines a novel route for exploiting naturally occurring plant microarchitectures to support the repair of functional spinal cord tissue.Competing Interest StatementDJM, CMC, RJH, MLL and AEP are inventors of multiple patents regarding the creation and use of plant-derived cellulose biomaterials. DJM, CMC, RJH, MLL, IS and AEP are former or current employees of Spiderwort Inc. which is leading the clinical translation of these biomaterials. All other authors declare no other competing interests.