Evaluation methods as quality control in the generation of decellularized peripheral nerve allografts.

Evaluation methods as quality control in the generation of decellularized peripheral nerve allografts.

J Neural Eng. 2017 Dec 15;:

Authors: Philips C, Cornelissen R, Carriel V

Abstract
Nowadays, the high incidence of peripheral nerve injuries and the low success ratio of surgical treatments are driving research to the generation of novel alternatives to repair critical nerve defects. In this sense, tissue engineering emerged as a possible alternative with special attention for decellularization techniques. Tissue decellularization offers the possibility to obtain a cell-free, natural extracellular matrix (ECM), characterized by an adequate three-dimensional organization and proper molecular composition to repair different tissues or organs, including peripheral nerves. One major problem, however, is that there are no standard quality control methods to evaluate decellularized tissues. Therefore, in this review, a brief description of current strategies for peripheral nerve repair is given, followed by an overview of different decellularization methods used for peripheral nerves. Furthermore, we extensively discuss the available and currently used methods to demonstrate the success of tissue decellularization in terms of cell removal, preservation of essential ECM molecules and maintenance or modification of biomechanical properties. Finally, orientative guidelines for the evaluation of decellularized peripheral nerve allografts are proposed.

PMID: 29244032 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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