Alignment of astrocytes increases neuronal growth in three-dimensional collagen gels and is maintained following plastic compression to form a spinal cord repair conduit.

ABSTRACT: After injury to the spinal cord, reactive astrocytes form a glial scar consisting of highly ramified cell processes that constitute a major impediment to repair, partly due to their lack of orientation and guidance for regenerating axons. In some nonmammalian vertebrates, successful central nervous system regeneration is attributed to the alignment of reactive glia, which guide axons across the lesion site. Here, a three-dimensional mammalian cell-seeded collagen gel culture system was used to explore the effect of astrocyte alignment on neuronal growth. Astrocyte alignment was mapped within tethered rectangular gels and was significantly greater at the edge and middle of the gels compared to the control unaligned regions. When neurons were seeded on and within astrocyte gels, neurite leng

SUBMITTER: East E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2958448 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature