A novel technique using hydrophilic polymers to promote axonal fusion

Autor: Ravinder Bamba, D Colton Riley, Nathaniel D Kelm, Mark D Does, Richard D Dortch, Wesley P Thayer
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Neural Regeneration Research, Vol 11, Iss 4, Pp 525-528 (2016)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1673-5374
DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.180724
Popis: The management of traumatic peripheral nerve injury remains a considerable concern for clinicians. With minimal innovations in surgical technique and a limited number of specialists trained to treat peripheral nerve injury, outcomes of surgical intervention have been unpredictable. The inability to manipulate the pathophysiology of nerve injury (i.e., Wallerian degeneration) has left scientists and clinicians depending on the slow and lengthy process of axonal regeneration (~1 mm/day). When axons are severed, the endings undergo calcium-mediated plasmalemmal sealing, which limits the ability of the axon to be primarily repaired. Polythethylene glycol (PEG) in combination with a bioengineered process overcomes the inability to fuse axons. The mechanism for PEG axonal fusion is not clearly understood, but multiple studies have shown that a providing a calcium-free environment is essential to the process known as PEG fusion. The proposed mechanism is PEG-induced lipid bilayer fusion by removing the hydration barrier surrounding the axolemma and reducing the activation energy required for membrane fusion to occur. This review highlights PEG fusion, its past and current studies, and future directions in PEG fusion.
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