Human peripheral nerve-derived scaffold for tissue-engineered nerve grafts: histology and biocompatibility analysis

Human acellular nerve grafts (ANGs) have been rarely used to construct tissue-engineered nerves compared to the animal-derived ANGs, and their potential clinical applications were relatively unknown. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the structure and components of a scaffold derived from human peripheral nerve and evaluate its biocompatibility. The human peripheral nerves were processed to prepare the scaffolds by chemical extraction. Light and electron microscopy were carried out to analyze scaffold structure and components. The analysis of cytotoxicity, hemolysis, and skin sensitization were performed to evaluate their biocompatibility. It was shown that Schwann cells and axons, identified by S-100 and neurofilament (NF) expression, were absent, and the scaffolds were cell-free and rich in collagen-I and laminin whose microarchitecture was similar to the fibrous framework of human peripheral nerves. It was revealed from biocompatibility tests that the scaffolds had very mild cytotoxicity and hemolysis, whereas skin sensitization was not observed. The constructed human peripheral nerve-derived scaffolds with well biocompatibility for clinical practice, which were cell-free and possess the microstructure and extracellular matrix (ECM) of a human nerve, might be an optimal scaffold for tissue-engineered nerve grafts in human.