Targeted Polymersomes Enable Enhanced Delivery to Peripheral Nerves Post-Injury.

The gold standard therapy for peripheral nerve injuries involves surgical repair, which is invasive and leads to major variations in therapeutic outcomes. Because of this, smaller injuries often go untreated. However, alternative, noninvasive routes of administration are currently unviable due to the presence of the blood-nerve barrier (BNB), which prevents passage of small molecules from the blood into the endoneurium and the nerve.

KHSRP-mediated Decay of Axonally Localized Prenyl-Cdc42 mRNA Slows Nerve Regeneration.

The small GTPase CDC42 promotes axon growth through actin filament polymerization and this growth is driven by axonal localization of the mRNA encoding the prenylated CDC42 isoform (). Here, we show that axonal mRNA transport and translation are decreased by growth-inhibiting stimulation and increased by growth-promoting stimulation. In contrast, axonal mRNA transport and translation are increased by growth inhibition but unaffected by growth promotion.

Impact of crystalline domains on long-term stability and mechanical performance of anisotropic silk fibroin sponges.

Sponge-like materials made from regenerated silk fibroin biopolymers are a tunable and advantageous platform for in vitro engineered tissue culture and in vivo tissue regeneration. Anisotropic, three-dimensional (3D) silk fibroin sponge-like scaffolds can mimic the architecture of contractile muscle. Herein, we use silk fibroin solution isolated from the cocoons of Bombyx mori silkworms to form aligned sponges via directional ice templating in a custom mold with a slurry of dry ice and ethanol.