Biomaterial Discovered That Helps Stemcells Repair Central Nervous System

While working on a project to develop an implant that allows brain repair and regeneration, a biomaterial that helps in generating new differentiated neural stem cells was discovered by researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the University of Barcelona in Spain.

The substance found is an option for the material needed to hold and keep alive neural stem cells, in order to apply them to an area of the central nervous system that needs repair by new stem cells replacing destroyed neural cells. In this case, it is a biodegradable gel made of polylactic acid (PLA), which allows neural cell adhesion and growth. Testing different types of this acide, the team found that PLA with a proportion of isomers of 70/30 maintained the important pools of neuronal and glial progenitor cells in vitro.

"The mechanical and surface properties of PLA70/30, which we used here in the form of microthin films, make it a good substrate for neural cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation," says Zaida Álvarez of the IBEC Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies group.

PLA 70/30 was more amorphous, degraded faster, and, crucially, released significant amounts of L-lactate, which is essential for the maintenance and differentiation of neural progenitor cells.

Enabling the central nervous system to regenerate will allow promising new strategies to tackle accidental damage as well as many diseases like stroke and degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.