ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Nanobiotechnology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1662072
Aligned Piezoelectric Fibrous Scaffolds for Prevention of Traumatic Neuroma Formation
Provisionally accepted
- 1Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
- 2Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Purpose: Traumatic neuroma, a painful complication of peripheral nerve injury, arises from disorganized axonal regeneration and chronic inflammation. Existing treatments provide limited relief. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of aligned piezoelectric poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) fibrous scaffolds in preventing neuroma formation by promoting nerve regeneration and mitigating inflammatory and pain-related responses. Methods: Aligned PLLA fibrous scaffolds were fabricated using electrospinning and characterized for morphology and piezoelectricity. In vitro, Schwann cell proliferation, morphology, and expression of myelination-related genes (Mag, Mbp, Mpz) were assessed. In vivo, a rat sciatic nerve transection model was used to evaluate autotomy behavior, nerve regeneration, inflammatory and pain-related markers (TNF-α, IL-10, SP, c-Fos), and transcriptomic changes. Results: PLLA scaffolds significantly promoted Schwann cell proliferation and upregulated myelination-related genes in vitro. In vivo, they reduced autotomy scores and suppressed the expression of inflammatory and nociceptive markers. Histological analyses demonstrated enhanced axonal regeneration and myelination, with greater NF200 and S100 expression, thicker myelin sheaths, and improved structural integrity. Transcriptome analysis revealed upregulation of neuroregenerative genes (e.g., Mag, Mpz, Sox10, Egr2) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-10, TGF-β), alongside downregulation of proinflammatory and pain-associated genes (e.g., SP, c-Fos, Mmp9, Tnf-α). Conclusion: Aligned piezoelectric PLLA fibrous scaffolds facilitate functional nerve regeneration, promote remyelination, and attenuate neuropathic pain and inflammation. These findings suggest that such scaffolds offer a promising nanomedicine-based strategy for the prevention of traumatic neuroma following peripheral nerve injury.
Keywords: Aligned fibrous scaffolds, Piezoelectric effect, Traumatic neuroma, Electrospinning, Poly(L-lactide) (PLLA)
Received: 08 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yujie, Xinyi, Huiran, Wang and Guangxue. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Li Guangxue, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.