Nano neuro knitting: Peptide nanofiber scaffold for brain repair and axon regeneration with functional return of vision
Kwok-Fai So, and Gerald E. Schneider
Rutledge G. Ellis-Behnke, Yu-Xiang Liang, Si-Wei You, David K. C. Tay, Shuguang Zhang,
doi:10.1073/pnas.0600559103
PNAS 2006;103;5054-5059; originally published online Mar 20, 2006;
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/103/13/5054

This paper discusses the regeneration of the optic nerve by aiding neuron reconnection on a nanometer scale scaffold created from amino acids. The experiment consisted of severing optic nerves in hamsters and then patching them with a self assembling peptide nanofiber scaffold (SAPNS). The reason for choosing such a scaffold is motivated by the inert properties of amino acids in the cellular environment. This scaffold also provides nutrients for growing cells and aids in the healing of the wound.

This article suggests also that nerves can be reattached using cell grafts from nerves in the legs of the animal. This is not as desirable as the SAPNS method as legs are often damaged by such a process. Tests were done after 30, 45 and 90 days and healing evidence was found. Imaging with an SEM and optical microscopes of the wound area also showed the SAPNS aiding in the healing of the nerve cells.

I chose this article because I think it is interesting. Scaffolds for engineered cells are almost as important as the growth of the cells. A biologically and chemically inert scaffold that functions on the nanometer scale is something that could benefit many tissue engineered devices at a variety of size scales.

I am skeptical about the results of the paper. The movies that show the hamster reactions are hard to quantify, and the possibility of another means of neuron regeneration was largely disregarded or not even mentioned to be as likely as the SAPNS aiding growth method. However, the paper does detail the experiment well and discusses the insertion of the scaffold into the wound and the various controls they used to eliminate random hamster visual artifacts. There is also visual evidence of the growth.