Page 113 - IJB-9-3

International Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Three-dimensional printing of microfiber-

reinforced hydrogel loaded with oxymatrine for
treating spinal cord injury

Shiqiang Song , Jing Zhou , Junming Wan , Xingchang Zhao , Kai Li ,
1†
4
1†
3†
2†
Chengliang Yang , Chuanchuan Zheng , Liqiang Wang , Yujin Tang *,
1
5
1
1
Chong Wang *, Jia Liu *
6
1
1 Guangxi Key Laboratory of Basic and Translational Research of Bone and Joint Degenerative
Diseases, Guangxi Biomedical Materials Engineering Research Center for Bone and Joint
Degenerative Diseases, Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical
University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi, 533000, China
2 Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, Guangxi, 533000, China
3 Department of Orthopaedics Surgery, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yet-sun University,
Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China
4 The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510663, China
5 State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Material Science and Engineering,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
6 School of Mechanical Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, Guangdong,
523808, China
† These authors contributed equally
to this work.
*Corresponding authors:
Yujin Tang Abstract
(tangyujin1967@163.com)
Chong Wang Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes severe neural tissue damage and motor/sensory
(wangchong@dgut.edu.cn) dysfunction. Since the injured spinal cord tissue has limited self-regeneration ability,
Jia Liu several strategies, including cell therapy, drug delivery, and tissue engineering scaffold
(liujia0111@live.cn)
implantation, have been employed to treat SCI. However, each of these strategies fails to
Citation: Song S, Zhou J, Wan J, obtain desirable outcomes due to their respective limitations. In comparison, advanced
et al., 2023, Three-dimensional tissue engineering scaffolds with appropriate topographical features, favorable
printing of microfiber-reinforced
hydrogel loaded with oxymatrine composition, and sustained drug delivery capability can be employed to recruit
for treating spinal cord injury. endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs), induce neuronal differentiation, and facilitate
Int J Bioprint, 9(3): 692. neuron maturation. This can lead to the regeneration of injured spinal cord tissue and the
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.692
recovery of motor function. In this study, fiber bundle-reinforced spinal cord extracellular
Received: September 22, 2022 matrix hydrogel scaffolds loaded with oxymatrine (OMT) were produced through near-
Accepted: December 16, 2022
Published Online: February 22, field direct write electrospinning. The spinal cord extracellular matrix-based hydrogel
2023 was then coated with OMT. The physical/chemical properties and in vitro degradation
behavior of the composite scaffolds were investigated. The in vitro cell culture results
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article showed that composite scaffolds loaded with OMT promoted the differentiation of NSCs
distributed under the terms of the into neurons and inhibited differentiation into astrocytes. The in vivo results showed
Creative Commons Attribution that the composite scaffolds loaded with OMT recruited NSCs from the host tissue,
License, permitting distribution
and reproduction in any medium, promoted neuronal differentiation and axon extension at the lesion site, inhibited glial
provided the original work is scar formation at/around the lesion site, and improved the recovery of motor function in
properly cited.
rats with SCI. To sum up, 3D-printed microfiber-reinforced spinal cord extracellular matrix
Publisher’s Note: Whioce hydrogel scaffolds loaded with OMT are promising biomaterials for the treatment of SCI.
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Keywords: Spinal cord injury; 3D bioprinting; Spinal cord extracellular matrix;
affiliations. Oxymatrine; Glial scar; Nerve regeneration

Volume 9 Issue 3 (2023) 105 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.692