Exosomes From Hair Follicle Epidermal Neural Crest Stem Cells Promote Acellular Nerve Allografts To Bridge Rat Facial Nerve Defects

This study investigated the use of exosomes from hair follicle epidermal neural crest stem cells (EPI-NCSCs-Exos) combined with acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) to repair facial nerve defects in 24 Sprague Dawley male rats. The rats were divided into three groups: autograft, ANA, and ANA + EPI-NCSCs-Exos. The results showed that the ANA + EPI-NCSCs-Exos group had similar nerve fiber density and myelin sheath thickness to the autograft group, and both were significantly better than the ANA group alone. This suggests that EPI-NCSCs-Exos can enhance ANAs' effectiveness in bridging nerve defects, potentially offering an alternative to autograft therapy in clinical settings.