Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T07:27:32.895Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Tissue-Engineering Approaches for Central and Peripheral Nervous-System Regeneration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2013

Markus Borkenhagen  and
Patrick Aebischer
Get access

Extract

The nervous system of the human body can be divided into two parts: the central and the peripheral nervous system. While the central nervous system (CNS) includes the brain and the spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of all the nerve branches exiting the spinal cord or brain stem that process information from our environment to the CNS and vice versa. The main extension that passes all incoming information to the next neuron or a peripheral target is called an axon. Axons can be as long as 1 meter, as in the case of axons sending electrical signals to the toes. All incoming information is received by smaller structures called dendrites. Axons are wrapped with glial cells, Schwann cells in the PNS, and oligodendrocytes in the CNS. These cells are responsible for the deposition of myelin, a powerful insulator. Each glial cell is covering an axonal segment of about 1-2 mm. An unmyelinated gap separates two glial cells. Action potentials are generated at those gaps. This electrical signal jumps from one unmyelinated gap to the next, giving rise to conduction velocities as fast as 1 m/s. In the PNS, axons are grouped together into fascicles, consisting of a layer of connective tissue surrounding bundles of axons. Several of these fascicles form a peripheral nerve surrounded by another connective tissue layer named epineurium. The epineurium is responsible for the integrity of the overall structure of a peripheral nerve. While the PNS shows regenerative capabilities, this is in general not the case for the CNS. The mechanisms explaining the poor regeneration capabilities of the CNS have started to be elucidated. The expression of inhibitory molecules in the mammalian-adult nervous system seems to be an essential component in the inherent lack of CNS regeneration. Examples for possible applications of materials systems addressing certain issues of PNS and CNS regeneration are presented in the following sections.

Type
Tissue Engineering
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 21 , Issue 11 , November 1996 , pp. 59 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Bellamkonda, R. and Aebischer, P., in Tissue Engineering Handbook, edited by Bronzino, J.D. (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1995) p. 1754.Google Scholar
2.Letourneau, P.C., Condic, M.L., and Snow, D.M., J. Neurosci. 14 (1994) p. 915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Bellamkonda, R., Ranieri, J.P., and Aebischer, P., J. Neurosci. Res. 41 (1995) p. 501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Joseph, J.M., Goddard, M.B., Mills, J., Padrun, V., Zurn, A., Zeilinski, B., Favre, J., Gardaz, J.P., Mosimann, F., Sagan, J., Christenson, L., and Aebischer, P., Cell Transplant. 3 (1994) p. 355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Aebischer, P., Buchser, E., Joseph, J.M., Favre, J., de Tribolet, N., Lysaght, M., Rudnick, S., and Goddard, M., Transplantation 58 (1994) p. 1275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Aebischer, P., Schluep, M., Déglon, N., Joseph, J-M., Hirt, L., Heyd, B., Goddard, M., Hammang, J.P., Zurn, A.D., Kato, A.C., Regli, F., and Beatge, E., Nature Med. in press.Google Scholar
7.Hohn, H-P. and Denker, H-W., J. Exp. Cell Res. 215 (1994) p. 40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fields, R.D., Le Beau, J.M., Longo, F.M., and Ellisman, M.H., Prog. Neurobiol. 33 (1989) p. 87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terris, D.J. and Fee, W.E. Jr., Arch. Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg. 119 (1993) p. 725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frykman, G.K., J. Handsurgery (April-June 1993) p. 83.Google Scholar
Seckel, B.R., Muscle and Nerve (September 1990) p. 785.Google Scholar