Three dimensional chitosan scaffolds influence the extra cellular matrix expression in Schwann cells.

Chitosan is a choice material for scaffolds in regenerative medicine. One of the applications is to bridge the damaged peripheral nerves. Previous studies showed that combination of chitosan conduits and cultured Schwann cells could increase the opportunity for re-connection of broken nerves. It has also been known that Schwann cells can produce the ECM components which are critical for nerve regeneration. In this study, we used the rat Schwann cells (RSCs) grown on porous chitosan scaffolds for quantitative analysis of ECM protein expression. The RSCs grown on chitosan scaffolds secreted higher amount of laminin and collagen 4 than those grown on the plane. The increased laminin and collagen 4 produced by Schwann cells could create a preferable condition for stimulating peripheral nerve regeneration.