Nerve cell differentiation using scaffold-based cell culture in bioreactors with electrical stimulation

Nerve injuries or neural diseases are a major issue in the world. With such conditions, neural function may or may not return and can lead to various types of permanent disability. Efforts to cure or treat these injuries or diseases have met with many difficulties such as crossing the blood-brain barrier using drugs or the site of cell transplantation being an inhospitable environment for nerve regeneration. The reasons for these problems are diverse and not fully understood, making it difficult to develop treatments to overcome the current shortcomings. A better understanding of neural cell responses to their surrounding environment and the conditions which can lead them to differentiation are key information needed to cure affected patients. This work demonstrates that substantial benefits in terms of cell growth and neural differentiation can be obtained using a complex cell culture environment combining suitable protein coatings, 3D scaffolds, electrical stimulation with non-conductive scaffolds, and bioreactor systems with dynamic flow of culture medium.