| Institution: | (1) Cartilage Biology and Orthopaedic Branch, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease, National Institutes of Health, 50 South Drive, Room 1525, Bethesda, MD MSC 8022, USA;(2) Clinical and Experimental Orthopaedics Laboratory, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA;(3) Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA;(4) Center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 450 Technology Drive, Room 221, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA; |
| Abstract: | Peripheral nerve damage frequently accompanies musculoskeletal trauma and repair of these nerves could be enhanced by the
targeted application of neurotrophic factors (NTFs), which are typically expressed by endogenous cells that support nerve
regeneration. Injured muscle tissues express NTFs to promote reinnervation as the tissue regenerates, but the source of these
factors from within the muscles is not fully understood. We have previously identified a population of mesenchymal progenitor
cells (MPCs) in traumatized muscle tissue with properties that support tissue regeneration, and our hypothesis was that MPCs
also secrete the NTFs that are associated with muscle tissue reinnervation. We determined that MPCs express genes associated
with neurogenic function and measured the protein-level expression of specific NTFs with known functions to support nerve
regeneration. We also demonstrated the effectiveness of a neurotrophic induction protocol to enhance the expression of the
NTFs, which suggests that the expression of these factors may be modulated by the cellular environment. Finally, neurotrophic
induction affected the expression of cell surface markers and proliferation rate of the MPCs. Our findings indicate that traumatized
muscle-derived MPCs may be useful as a therapeutic cell type to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration following musculoskeletal
injury. |
