Construction of the neural interface (neural microfiber bundle) by using the regenerative medicine

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26630088
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Intelligent mechanics/Mechanical systems
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Negishi Midori (加藤みどり) 東京大学, 生産技術研究所, 研究員 (30300750)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): Hiroaki Onoe 慶應義塾大学, 理工学部, 講師 (30548681)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: マイクロ・ナノデバイス / マイクロマシン / 再生医療 / 神経移植

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, we tried to make a neural interface which is formed from a neurons /neural stem cells and a biocompatible material for medical transplantation. We first established a stable construction method of the neural microfibers. Neural microfibers had the structure of the meters length and 100-200 μm diameter. Then, the bundles of 48 neural microfibers were made with collagen solution (collagen bundle), a combination of Na-alginate and amphiphilic chitosan solution (chitosan bundle), or fibrin sealant (fibrin bundle), cultured for 6 days after microfiber formation, and transplanted into the transected mouse spinal cord. The survival rate of the neural stem cells were monitored by in vivo bioluminescence imaging for 6 weeks after transplantation. Immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated that the transplanted neural stem cells survived and migrated into the host spinal cord. The surviving neural stem cells differentiated into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes.

Free Research Field

マイクロ・ナノデバイス