Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29700345›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2018

3D bio-printed scaffold-free nerve constructs with human gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote rat facial nerve regeneration.

Qunzhou Zhang, Phuong D Nguyen, Shihong Shi, Justin C Burrell, D Kacy Cullen, Anh D Le

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 133 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. [Effect of the local application of stem cells on repairing facial nerve defects: a systematic review].Hua xi kou qiang yi xue za zhi = Huaxi kouqiang yixue zazhi = West China journal of stomatology · 2020
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  8. [Biological characteristics and translational research of dental stem cells].Beijing da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Peking University. Health sciences · 2025
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11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Qunzhou ZhangDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 240 South 40th Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA.
Phuong D NguyenDivision of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3400 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Shihong ShiDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 240 South 40th Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA.
Justin C BurrellDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3320 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA.
D Kacy CullenDepartment of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, 3320 Smith Walk, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA.
Anh D LeDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, 240 South 40th Street, Philadelphia, PA19104, USA. Anh.Le@uphs.upenn.edu.
University of Pennsylvania · USHospital of the University of Pennsylvania · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Despite the promising neuro-regenerative capacities of stem cells, there is currently no licensed stem cell-based product in the repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve injuries. Here, we explored the potential use of human gingiva-derived mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs) as the only cellular component in 3D bio-printed scaffold-free neural constructs that were transplantable to bridge facial nerve defects in rats. We showed that GMSCs have the propensity to aggregate into compact 3D-spheroids that could produce their own matrix. When cultured under either 2D- or 3D-collagen scaffolds, GMSC spheroids were found to be more capable of differentiating into both neuronal and Schwann-like cells than their adherent counterparts. Using a scaffold-free 3D bio-printer system, nerve constructs were printed from GMSC spheroids in the absence of exogenous scaffolds and allowed to mature in a bioreactor. In vivo transplantation of the GMSC-laden nerve constructs promoted regeneration and functional recovery when used to bridge segmental defects in rat facial nerves. Our findings suggest that GMSCs represent an easily accessible source of MSCs for 3D bio-printing of scaffold-free nervous tissue constructs with promising potential application for repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve defects.

Indexed as

Facial NerveNerve RegenerationPrinting, Three-DimensionalTissue ScaffoldsAnimalsCell Culture TechniquesCell DifferentiationCollagenGingivaHumansImmunohistochemistryMesenchymal Stem CellsRatsCollagen

Identifiers

PMID29700345
PMCPMC5919929
OpenAlexW2800133848

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.