Injuries to the nervous system that involve the disruption of axonal pathways are devastating to the individual and require specific tissue engineering strategies. Here we analyse a cells-biomaterials strategy to overcome the obstacles limiting axon regeneration in vivo, based on the combination of a hyaluronic acid (HA) single-channel tubular conduit filled with poly-L-lactide acid (PLA) fibres in its lumen, with pre-cultured Schwann cells (SCs) as cells supportive of axon extension. The HA conduit and PLA fibres sustain the proliferation of SC, which enhance axon growth acting as a feeder layer and growth factor pumps. The parallel unidirectional ensemble formed by PLA fibres and SC tries to recapitulate the directional features of axonal pathways in the nervous system. A dorsal root ganglion (DRG) explant is planted on one of the conduit’s ends to follow axon outgrowth from the DRG. After a 21 d co-culture of the DRG + SC-seeded conduit ensemble, we analyse the axonal extension throughout the conduit by scanning, transmission electronic and confocal microscopy, in order to study the features of SC and the grown axons and their association. The separate effects of SC and PLA fibres on the axon growth are also experimentally addressed. The biohybrid thus produced may be considered a synthetic axonal pathway, and the results could be of use in strategies for the regeneration of axonal tracts.

涉及轴突通路中断的神经系统损伤对个人来说是毁灭性的，需要特定的组织工程策略。在这里，我们分析了一种细胞-生物材料策略，以克服体内限制轴突再生的障碍，基于透明质酸 (HA) 单通道管状导管在其管腔中填充聚 L-丙交酸 (PLA) 纤维，与预培养的雪旺氏细胞 (SC) 作为支持轴突延伸的细胞的组合。HA 导管和 PLA 纤维维持 SC 的增殖，这增强了轴突生长，作为饲养层和生长因子泵。由 PLA 纤维和 SC 形成的平行单向合奏试图概括神经系统中轴突通路的方向特征。背根神经节 (DRG) 外植体种植在导管的一端，以跟随轴突从 DRG 长出。在 DRG + SC 种子导管集合共培养 21 天后，我们通过扫描、透射电子和共聚焦显微镜分析了整个导管的轴突延伸，为了研究 SC 的特征和生长的轴突及其关联。SC 和 PLA 纤维对轴突生长的单独影响也通过实验得到解决。由此产生的生物杂交体可以被认为是一种合成的轴突途径，其结果可用于轴突束再生的策略。