Nanobiocomposite of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/chitosan electrospun scaffold can promote proliferation and transdifferentiation of Schwann-like cells from human adipose-derived stem cells Shahnaz Razavi, 1 Hamid Zarkesh-Esfahani, 2 Mohammad Morshed, 3 Sedigheh Vaezifar, 1,4 Saeed Karbasi, 5 Mohammad Ali Golozar 4 1 Department of Anatomical Sciences and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 81744-176, Iran 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan 81746-73441, Iran 3 Department of Textile Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran 4 Department of Materials Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran 5 Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 15875-4413, Iran Received 21 June 2014; revised 15 December 2014; accepted 4 January 2015 Published online 00 Month 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.35398 Abstract: The transdifferentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) into Schwann-like cells on biocomposite scaffolds may be a critical issue in nerve regeneration medi- cine. In this study, tissue-engineered scaffold with chitosan (CS) nanopowders and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) was investigated for its potential Schwann cells (SCs) transdifferentiation. The differentiation of human ADSCs into S-like cells was induced with different CS content and direction of nanofibers on PLGA/CS scaffolds. Cell morphology and proliferation of differentiated cells were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetra- zolium bromide assay respectively. For assessment efficiency of transdifferentiation, the expression of SC markers (glial fibrillary acidic protein and S100), and myelinogenic marker (myelin basic protein) was investigated in different nanochitosan content and direction of nanofibers scaffolds, using immunocytochemistry technique. The nanochitosan can significantly promote cell prolifera- tion of differentiated cells (p < 0.05). The mean percentage of S-like cells on greater CS content nanofibers scaffold was sig- nificantly higher than others (p < 0.05). In addition, the align orientation of nanofibers in scaffolds guided the differentiation of ADSCs toward myelinating S-like cells on the constructs. Overall, we found that high CS content and aligned- orientation of nanofibers in biocomposite scaffold (70/30A) can promote differentiation and myelinogenic capacity of S- like cells induced from human ADSCs. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 00B:000–000, 2015. Key Words: ADSCs, PLGA/CS, nanocomposite, transdifferen- tiation, Schwann-like cell How to cite this article: Razavi S, Zarkesh-Esfahani H, Morshed M, Vaezifar S, Karbasi S, Golozar MA. 2015. Nanobiocomposite of poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/chitosan electrospun scaffold can promote proliferation and transdifferentiation of Schwann-like cells from human adipose-derived stem cells. J Biomed Mater Res Part A 2015:00A:000–000. INTRODUCTION Peripheral nerve injury is common and serious clinically. Even though, over 160 years of attempts in the microsurgi- cal management for treatment of damaged peripheral nerve, repair of a nerve gap remains a problem for nerve regeneration. 1 After nerve injury; SCs play an important role in periph- eral nerve regeneration. 2 SCs act not only as structural sup- porting cells for axonal regenerating, 3 but also as a source of neurotrophic factors. 4,5 Therefore, in the treatment of nerve injuries, using autologous SCs is superior for therapeutic strategies. However, due to limitation in tissue availability, donor site morbidity, other alternative sources to obtain accessible and rapidly expandable cells are required. 6 Artificial nerve scaffolds have been introduced as a sub- stitute for autologous nerve graft. Since, it is available pro- cedure to exclude nerve autograft limitations. Tissue engineering in peripheral nerve repair employs scaffolds as temporary supports during the formation of new peripheral nerve tissue and the scaffolds should totally degrade when the support is no longer needed. Scaffolds should be Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests. Correspondence to: S. Razavi; e-mail: razavi@med.mui.ac.ir Contract grant sponsor: Iranian Council of Stem Cell Technology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran; contract grant number: 190044 V C 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC. 1