Friday, October 28, 2011
Hall 1-2 (San Jose Convention Center)
In the peripheral nervous system, nerves can spontaneously regenerate. One factor that is hypothesized to aid in regeneration is the presence of growth factors such as Glial cell line derived nerve growth factor (GDNF). The site of action of this growth factor, in terms of axon and cell body, is not completely understood. The mechanism might be a combination of both local signaling and transport of protein. The focus of this study is to determine the site of action of GDNF in enhancing growth rates of healthy and injured axons using microfluidic platforms. In this particular study, we utilize a two chamber system with DRG in order to establish baseline growth rates of healthy axons that can be used as controls for further study. Next steps in the study will involve utilizing microfluidic chamber that has three compartments, with application of growth factor in each section to test if there are any differences in growth rates. Daily sequential microscope imaging is used to examine any difference in the axons by measuring axon lengths. As a secondary goal of this study, we wanted to investigate whether nanoparticles could be used to localize the protein in the chambers. We compare fluorescent ovalbumin in solution with the same protein encapsulated in Poly (lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres. We see that without a height difference, it can be difficult to localize the protein in the chamber. This research performs some of the baseline studies that can be used to improve treatment of injured and regenerating axons.