Combining protein-based biomaterials with stem cells for spinal cord injury repair

Date

2014

Authors

Montgomery, A
Agbay, A
Edgar, JM
Gabers, N
Gomez, J
Mohtaram, NK
King, C
Mitchell, A
Rajwani, A
Rattray, D

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

OA Publishing London

Abstract

Introduction Protein-based biomaterials can be combined with stem cells to develop therapies that aid in the regeneration of injured spinal cords. These approaches use various protein scaffolds to support the survival and differentiation of implanted stem cellderived populations into functional neurons and glial cells with the aim of overcoming the inhibitory scarring that restricts cell regrowth after spinal cord injury. The following review evaluates two key protein-based biomaterials–fibrin and collagen–in combination with both pluripotent and multipotent stem cells as strategies for spinal cord injury repair. Recent studies on the protein network of decellularised extracellular matrix are also highlighted as an exciting area for future work. Conclusion The combination of protein-based biomaterials with stem cells shows significant promise as a strategy for spinal cord injury repair.

Description

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Citation

Montgomery A, Agbay A, Edgar JM, Gabers N, Gomez J, Mohtaram NK, et al. Combining protein-based biomaterials with stem cells for spinal cord injury repair. OA Stem Cells 2014 Jan 18;2(1):1.