Neurite infiltration and cellular response to electrospun polycaprolactone scaffolds implanted into the brain

Abstract

Assessment of axonal infiltration and guidance within neural tissue engineering scaffolds, along with the characterisation of the inflammatory response, is critical in determining these scaffolds' potential for facilitating neural repair. In this study, the extent of microglial and astrocytic response was measured following implantation of electrospun poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds into the caudate putamen of the adult rat brain. The inflammation peaked at around 4 days (microglia) and 7 days (astrocytes) and subsided to homeostatic levels by 60 days. There was no evidence of microglial encapsulation and indeed neurites had infiltrated the implants, evidence of scaffold-neural in..