A Magneto‐Mechanically Activated Nerve Guidance Conduit Promotes Peripheral Nerve Regeneration via TIMP1‐Mediated Membrane Tension Transfer

ABSTRACT Despite architectural advances, current nerve guidance conduits inadequately replicate the mechanoactive microenvironment required for functional neural regeneration. While membrane tension is increasingly recognized as an important biomechanical regulator of axonal extension and glial behavior, its therapeutic exploitation in peripheral nerve repair remains limited. Whether and how membrane tension‐related cues are relayed from support cells to neurons also remains unclear. Here, we developed a magneto‐mechanical augmentation strategy by functionalizing mesenchymal stem cells with superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 @polydopamine nanoparticles (FP@MSCs) and incorporating these cells into an aligned PCL/GelMA conduit. Under static magnetic stimulation, FP@MSCs showed increased membrane tension, cytoskeletal remodeling, and accelerated differentiation toward a Schwann cell‐like phenotype. Mechanistically, transcriptomic profiling and protein‐protein interaction mapping pointed to TIMP1 as a candidate paracrine mediator, which subsequently activated the ITGB1/CD63–FAK axis in recipient NE‐4C cells. Further analyses, including atomic force microscopy and osmotic perturbation, indicated that elevated membrane tension drove TIMP1 secretion, which subsequently amplified membrane tension in NE‐4C and promoted neuronal differentiation. In a rat 15 mm sciatic nerve gap model, the magneto‐mechanically activated conduit promoted motor, sensory and histological recovery. Together, these findings support a TIMP1‐dependent intercellular mechanotransductive pathway and suggest a magneto‐mechanical strategy for enhancing the regenerative performance of nerve guidance conduits.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-09-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.78442
Primary Topic
Nerve injury and regeneration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A Magneto‐Mechanically Activated Nerve Guidance Conduit Promotes Peripheral Nerve Regeneration via TIMP1‐Mediated Membrane Tension Transfer

Xinyu Zhu, Zongxi Wu, Kan Li, Yu Liu et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Nerve injury and regeneration
article

A Magneto‐Mechanically Activated Nerve Guidance Conduit Promotes Peripheral Nerve Regeneration via TIMP1‐Mediated Membrane Tension Transfer

Xinyu Zhu, Zongxi Wu, Kan Li, Yu Liu, Xiang Gao, Xiang Li, Yujie Liang, Tianlu Wang, Wanting Jia, Siyong Gao, Guangsen Zheng, Huanzhong Ji, Xueying Mei, Guiqing Liao, Yumin Wu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite architectural advances, current nerve guidance conduits inadequately replicate the mechanoactive microenvironment required for functional neural regeneration. While membrane tension is increasingly recognized as an important biomechanical regulator of axonal extension and glial behavior, its therapeutic exploitation in peripheral nerve repair remains limited. Whether and how membrane tension‐related cues are relayed from support cells to neurons also remains unclear. Here, we developed a magneto‐mechanical augmentation strategy by functionalizing mesenchymal stem cells with superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 @polydopamine nanoparticles (FP@MSCs) and incorporating these cells into an aligned PCL/GelMA conduit. Under static magnetic stimulation, FP@MSCs showed increased membrane tension, cytoskeletal remodeling, and accelerated differentiation toward a Schwann cell‐like phenotype. Mechanistically, transcriptomic profiling and protein‐protein interaction mapping pointed to TIMP1 as a candidate paracrine mediator, which subsequently activated the ITGB1/CD63–FAK axis in recipient NE‐4C cells. Further analyses, including atomic force microscopy and osmotic perturbation, indicated that elevated membrane tension drove TIMP1 secretion, which subsequently amplified membrane tension in NE‐4C and promoted neuronal differentiation. In a rat 15 mm sciatic nerve gap model, the magneto‐mechanically activated conduit promoted motor, sensory and histological recovery. Together, these findings support a TIMP1‐dependent intercellular mechanotransductive pathway and suggest a magneto‐mechanical strategy for enhancing the regenerative performance of nerve guidance conduits.

Advanced Functional Materials
Key Laboratory of Guangdong Province (CN), Stomatology Hospital (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Nerve injury and regeneration
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