Repairing nerve damage with nerve guides is successful in some, but not all, cases. A team from MedUni Vienna and the University of Oxford has discovered spider silk as a new material for this purpose.
In their experiments with the silk from silkworms and spiders, the researchers also gained insight into neuronal healing processes. The study results have been published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials.
Nerves grow along the silk threads
In collaboration with the University of Oxford, the MedUni Vienna team produced nerve guides from two different types of silk: silk from silkworms was used for the tubes and silk from spiders was used to fill them. In the animal model, the severed nerves adapted to the new silk nerve conductors and grew along the silk threads until the severed nerve endings reconnected.
“As part of our study, we not only succeeded in achieving nerve repair, we were also able to analyze in detail the components of the healing process,” said lead author Lorenz Semmler of the University Clinic for Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Medicine. Surgery.
Molecular structure provides stability
The silkworm silk tubes feature a porous wall to ensure the exchange of nutrients and wastes necessary for the nerves’ functionality. In addition, information was obtained about the molecular structure of the tubes, which is responsible for their stability and the prevention of kinks and fractures.
Filling material as a conductive structure in the tubes should serve as a “handrail” for the damaged nerve, along which the regenerating tissue can orient itself and grow. “In our study, peripheral nerves appeared to work well when such threads are made of silk, with spider silk apparently being preferred for the guide rails,” says Semmler.
Source: Krone
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