In the treatment of a peripheral nerve defect, the use of a tissue engineered artificial nerve may offer an alternative to a nerve autograft Three aspects of a tissue engineered artificial nerve were reviewed: Schwann cell culture, the construction of a three dimensional intrinsic framework for the seeding of Schwann cells, and the fabrication of a biodegradable and semipermeable nerve tube Schwann cell cultivation could be simplified using a serum free medium or in vivo degenerated nerve grafts To improve the attachment and alignment of Schwann cells on the three dimensional intrinsic framework, coating the biomaterials with extracellular matrices and application of a rotating culture system were accepted as promising techniques A few biodegradable and semipermeable nerve tubes made from polyglycolic acid, polylactic acid or collagen were available The dimensions and link of growth factors played a role during nerve regeneration? Until now, tissue engineered artificial nerves have been proved to be effective on supporting nerve regeneration However, the results were inferior to nerve autografts in the case of a long nerve defect The embryonic Schwann cell might be a source of cell due to their wide availability and poor antigenicity In addition, incorporation of growth factors into the intrinsic framework or nerve guides may promote the survival of transplanted Schwann cells and subsequently nerve regeneration The suitable biomaterials are yet to be investigated until an optimal result can be
