Sodium Alginate Silk Fibroin Hydrogel Loaded with Neural Stem Cells for Treatment of Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

The application of stem cell therapy for neural tissue regeneration is often limited by low cell survival after transplantation. To overcome this, we developed an injectable hydrogel via dual cross-linking: Schiff base formation between oxidized alginate and silk fibroin (SF) and host–guest interactions between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and adamantane. The resulting hydrogel exhibits high water content, injectability, electrical conductivity, suitable degradation, and excellent biocompatibility. Neural stem cells (NSCs) encapsulated within the hydrogel showed high viability, proliferation, and neuronal differentiation capacity in vitro. In a rat model of cerebral palsy (CP), NSC-laden hydrogel transplanted via intracranial injection promoted significant structural repair and functional recovery, as confirmed by behavioral tests, histology, and proteomics. indicating its potential therapeutic effect on the repair of cerebral tissue in CP. This indicates that the hydrogel has broad application prospects in the field of brain nerve tissue repair.