biostudies-literatureZhang QNIDCR NIH HHSU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial ResearchU.S. Department of DefenseU.S. Department of Defense (United States Department of Defense)OsteoScience Foundation-Peter Geistlich Research Awards; Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation (OMSF)-Research Support GrantU.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)the Schoenleber funding support59https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8484485biostudies-literatureUnknown6(1)Achieving a satisfactory functional recovery after severe peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) remains one of the major clinical challenges despite advances in microsurgical techniques. Nerve autografting is currently the gold standard for the treatment of PNI, but there exist several major limitations. Accumulating evidence has shown that various types of nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) combined with post-natal stem cells as the supportive cells may represent a promising alternative to nerve autografts. In this study, gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) under 3D-culture in soft collagen hydrogel showed significantly increased expression of a panel of genes related to development/differentiation of neural crest stem-like cells (NCSC) and/or Schwann cell precursor-like (SCP) cells and NPJ Regenerative medicineHarnessing 3D collagen hydrogel-directed conversion of human GMSCs into SCP-like cells to generate functionalized nerve conduits.PMC8484485R21 DE029926R21DE029926-01W81XWH-16-1-0796Shi SLe ADBurrell JCZeng JShanti RMNguyen PKulischak GCullen DKZhang QfalseHarnessing 3D collagen hydrogel-directed conversion of human GMSCs into SCP-like cells to generate functionalized nerve conduits.Achieving a satisfactory functional recovery after severe peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) remains one of the major clinical challenges despite advances in microsurgical techniques. Nerve autografting is currently the gold standard for the treatment of PNI, but there exist several major limitations. Accumulating evidence has shown that various types of nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) combined with post-natal stem cells as the supportive cells may represent a promising alternative to nerve autografts. In this study, gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) under 3D-culture in soft collagen hydrogel showed significantly increased expression of a panel of genes related to development/differentiation of neural crest stem-like cells (NCSC) and/or Schwann cell precursor-like (SCP) cells and 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Sep2025-06-01T04:24:24.712Z2022-02-11T12:02:26.244ZS-EPMC84844853459382310.1038/s41536-021-00170-y