AUTHOR=Tang Xiaoxing , Sun Xin , Ji Yun , Huang Xuehua , Xiao Shilin , Zhou Yanjing , Ma Ke , Yuan Hongjie 

TITLE=NGF-releasing Prussian blue nanoparticles for nerve injury repair of lumbar disc herniation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2024.1503330

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2024.1503330

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=Compression of the nerve root by a lumbar disc herniation can cause radiating pain in the lower limbs, and the nerve root decompression treatment still make some patients exist sensory function and motor dysfunction. Studies have shown that nerve growth factor (NGF) can promote nerve growth and repair, but high dose, long duration and immune response have become the bottleneck of its clinical application. To overcome this obstacle, we developed Prussian blue (PBs) nanoparticles with bio-delivery function and the antioxidant effects of nano-enzymes. NGF was conjugated to the surface of PBs nanoparticles (PBs-NGF nanoparticles), which can be directly delivered to nerve cells. The results showed that free PBs nanoparticles showed great advantages in scavenging oxygen free radicals and antioxidation, while PBs-NGF nanoparticles showed good biocompatibility. At the cellular level, cell proliferation assay and fluorescence microscopy analysis confirmed that PBs-NGF nanoparticles significantly promoted the proliferation, differentiation and neurite outgrowth of neuron-like PC12 cells compared with free NGF. In nerve root compression (NRC) animal model of rats, behavioral observations (paw withdrawal threshold, PWT, and paw withdrawal latency, PWL) confirmed that PBs-NGF nanoparticles with ease pain caused by Nerve root compression; H&E staining results showed that PBs-NGF nanoparticles could significantly reduce the inflammatory infiltration of nerve roots, and ELISA results showed that the concentrations of inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α) were also significantly reduced. In summary, the developed functional nanoplatform provides a basis for clinical application of NGF in lumbar nerve root injury with disc herniation compression and provides a new treatment strategy for patients.