Effects of Polypropylene Mesh vs Polycaprolactone/Polyvinyl Alcohol Mesh Coated with Nanofiber Containing VEGF165 and FGF-21 on Abdominal Wall Reconstruction in Rat

The application of non-absorbable hernia mesh in the repair of abdominal abnormalities has been associated with a range of problems and a considerable loss in quality of life. The purpose of this study is to develop a nanofiber hernia mesh coated with a growth factor, to evaluate its effect on abdominal defect repair in a rat model, and to show that this new mesh is superior. The coaxial electrospinning technique was used to synthesize the polycaprolactone and polyvinyl alcohol (PCL/PVA) mesh coated with vascular endothelial growth Factor165 (VEGF165) and fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21), and the CCK8 assay was used to determine the proliferation rate of NIH3T3 co-cultured with the synthetic product. Sixteen healthy male Sprague–Dawley rats with hernias were randomly assigned to receive mesh made of PCL/PVA or polypropylene (PP). The tensile strength of meshes was determined. The tissue was stained to determine the amount of inflammation and angiogenesis using a microscope. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the expression of inflammatory factors. Our results demonstrated that the PCL/PVA mesh had no effect on cell proliferation in vitro. The experimental rats tolerated PCL/PVA mesh well, and there was no difference in breaking strength between the PCL/PVA mesh and PP mesh groups. Foreign body giant cells were substantially more abundant in the PCL/PVA mesh group than in the PP mesh group. The PCL/PVA mesh group demonstrated considerably more angiogenesis than the PP mesh group. The PCL/PVA mesh group had higher levels of colony-stimulating factor 2 (CSF2), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and lower levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) than the PP mesh group. This study showed that the PCL/PVA mesh coated with VEGF165 and FGF-21 can be well tolerated and promote angiogenesis in hernia repair. It may be a potential mesh for clinical applications.