Promising nanotechnology for nerve research
26 Dec 2012 by Evoluted New Media
University of Michigan researchers report success in developing polymer nanofiber technologies for understanding how nerve fibres work and using them to grow new nerves from stem cells. The extensive work has been published in several papers including Nature Methods, Materials Science and Engineering C and Biomacromolecules.
Neurologist Dr Joseph Corey and colleagues coaxed oligodendrocytes (the type of neuron affected in multiple sclerosis) to wrap around a scaffold of very thin polymer nanofibers.
“Essentially these fibers are the same size as a neuron. Therefore, the nerve cells follow it and their shape and location conform to it,” said Corey of the nanofibers.
The researchers used polystyrene to make the fibers through a technique called electrospinning. The group even managed to encourage myelination of the oligodendrocytes (the process of developing an electrical insulating coating that protects the nerve cells) once the cells had wrapped around the scaffold.
The research also determined the optimum diameter for nanofibers to support myelination and therefore provided new clues to why some nerve cells are myelinated and others are not.
“What we need to do for multiple sclerosis is to encourage nerves to remyelinate. For nerve damage caused by trauma, on the other hand, we need to encourage regeneration” explained Corey.
The system can be used to study how different types of cells interact during and after nerve formation. By attaching particular molecules to the nanofibres, Corey hopes to learn more about nerve fiber development and what makes the process go awry in certain diseases.
Corey’s lab has collaborated with R. Keith Duncan, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology to determine whether new nerve cells could be created. Together, they found that stem cells from Duncan’s lab are more likely to develop into neurons when they are grown on Corey’s aligned nanofibers.
Future applications of this approach may be to eventually build new nerves from stem cells and direct their connections to undamaged parts of the brain and to muscle.
