Nerve injury is a common clinical problem. The repair or regeneration of the defective nerve is a complex process. Peripheral nerves have a limited capacity to regenerate after an injury. Microvesicles are a type of extracellular vesicles that are released from the cell membrane. The membranes of mesenchymal stem cells, for instance.
Recent studies have suggested that these vesicles play a critical role in tissue regeneration and thus they have a huge potential in regenerative medicine, like the stem cells.
Image credit: Biomaterials & Organs Engineering Group
A research team led by Professor Murugan Ramalingam from Vellore institute of Technology (VIT), and Professor Jiabo Hu from Jiangsu University have demonstrated the regeneration of a defective nerve tissue on animal model using stem cell-derived microvesicles. The work was published in the Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, an international journal in the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering.
Our team has successfully demonstrated that the stem cell-derived microvesicles can induce regeneration after a nerve injury on an animal model. This reveals that the microvesicles have nerve tissue regenerative potential and biologically safe in vivo, said Professor Ramalingam. This study suggests that this kind of microvesicles could be considered as a potential candidate for repair of nerve defects as an alternative to stem cells, added Professor Jiabo Hu. Further studies on the therapeutic efficacy of these vesicles are under investigation.
Original research article:
Microvesicles Secreted by Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promote Regeneration of Sprague-Dawley Rat Sciatic Nerve. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1166/jbt.2020.2348