Treatment of Denervated Muscle Atrophy by Injectable Dual-Responsive Hydrogels Loaded with Extracellular Vesicles

Denervated muscle atrophy, a common outcome of nerve injury, often results in irreversible fibrosis due to the limited effectiveness of current therapeutic interventions. While extracellular vesicles (EVs) offer promise for treating muscle atrophy, their therapeutic potential is hindered by challenges in delivery and bioactivity within the complex microenvironment of the injury site. To address this issue, an injectable hydrogel is developed that is responsive to both ultrasound and pH, with inherent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, designed to improve the targeted delivery of stem cell-derived EVs. This hydrogel system allows for controlled release of EVs from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUC-MSCs), adapting to the specific conditions of the injury environment. In vivo studies using a rat model of nerve injury demonstrated that the EV-loaded hydrogel (EVs@UR-gel) significantly preserved muscle function. Six weeks post-nerve reconstruction, treated rats exhibited muscle strength, circumference, and wet weight reaching 89.53 ± 0.96%, 76.02 ± 7.49%, and 88.0 ± 2.65% of healthy controls, respectively, alongside an improvement in the sciatic nerve index (-0.11 ± 0.09). This platform presents a novel therapeutic approach by maintaining EV bioactivity, enabling tunable release based on the disease state, and facilitating the restoration of muscle structure and function.