{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T05:26:35Z","timestamp":1778649995138,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]],"date-time":"2025-09-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756771200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82374615 82101956"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82374615 82101956"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) leads to severe motor and sensory impairments and underscores the urgent need for the development of effective treatment approaches. The injury microenvironment with oxidation, inflammation and extracellular matrix disruption represents a major barrier to nerve tissue repair as well as the functioning of therapeutic factors.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study proposes a curcumin-loaded boronate-crosslinked tannic acid injectable hydrogel (CBT-gel) for effective antioxidants and neuroprotective spinal cord repair. Rat transection SCI models were established, and the CBT-gel was implanted in the injured spinal cord tissue. Behavioral and histological testing was performed to determine the spinal cord repair effects.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The injectable self-healing hydrogel induced sustainable release of the neuroprotective drug curcumin. The CBT-gel transplantation treatment enhanced axonal preservation and reduced glial scar formation. The results also revealed a reduction in neuroinflammation and cellular oxidative damage.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title><jats:p>These findings support the potential of CBT-gel to improve the microenvironment for spinal cord repair by leveraging their antioxidant and neuroprotective properties. The results in this study aligns with the documented bioactivity of curcumin, though molecular targets in the CBT-gel treatment require further profiling.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1655686","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]],"date-time":"2025-09-02T05:34:45Z","timestamp":1756791285000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["An injectable curcumin-loaded hydrogel for neuroprotective treatment promote nerve tissue repair in rat severe spinal cord injury"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Zhaoqing","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Haiyan","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ruisong","family":"Tian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Guangwei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Fuchang","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liangyu","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.2174\/0113892002312605240508042634","article-title":"Curcumin nanogel preparations: a promising alternative for psoriasis treatment","volume":"25","author":"Ahmad","year":"2024","journal-title":"Curr. Drug Metab."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"122035","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lfs.2023.122035","article-title":"Enhanced spinal cord regeneration by gelatin\/alginate hydrogel scaffolds containing human endometrial stem cells and curcumin-loaded PLGA nanoparticles in rat","volume":"330","author":"Ai","year":"2023","journal-title":"Life Sci."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"498","DOI":"10.1007\/s11064-018-02704-1","article-title":"Electroacupuncture and curcumin promote oxidative balance and motor function recovery in rats following traumatic spinal cord injury","volume":"44","author":"Alvarado-Sanchez","year":"2019","journal-title":"Neurochem. Res."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1113","DOI":"10.1007\/s11033-024-10057-y","article-title":"Synergistic effects of curcumin and stem cells on spinal cord injury: a comprehensive review","volume":"51","author":"Arefnezhad","year":"2024","journal-title":"Mol. Biol. Rep."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101004","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drup.2023.101004","article-title":"Natural medicinal compounds target signal transduction pathways to overcome ABC drug efflux transporter-mediated multidrug resistance in cancer","volume":"71","author":"Bharathiraja","year":"2023","journal-title":"Drug Resist Updat"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bioactmat.2022.05.025","article-title":"Silk-based hydrogel incorporated with metal-organic framework nanozymes for enhanced osteochondral regeneration","volume":"20","author":"Cao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Bioact. Mater."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"rbae039","DOI":"10.1093\/rb\/rbae039","article-title":"Sustained delivery of NT-3 and curcumin augments microenvironment modulation effects of decellularized spinal cord matrix hydrogel for spinal cord injury repair","volume":"11","author":"Chen","year":"2024","journal-title":"Regen. Biomater."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1039","DOI":"10.1021\/jf063446t","article-title":"Curcuminoids, curcumin, and demethoxycurcumin reduce lead-induced memory deficits in male Wistar rats","volume":"55","author":"Dairam","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"212","DOI":"10.1186\/s12974-018-1247-9","article-title":"Effects of rapamycin and curcumin on inflammation and oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo - in search of potential anti-epileptogenic strategies for temporal lobe epilepsy","volume":"15","author":"Drion","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Neuroinflammation"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1928","DOI":"10.3390\/biomedicines9121928","article-title":"A hyaluronic acid demilune scaffold and polypyrrole-coated fibers carrying embedded human neural precursor cells and curcumin for surface capping of spinal cord injuries","volume":"9","author":"Elkhenany","year":"2021","journal-title":"Biomedicines"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"114224","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biopha.2023.114224","article-title":"Multiple mechanisms of curcumin targeting spinal cord injury","volume":"159","author":"Gu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Biomed. Pharmacother."},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12910","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-93726-7","article-title":"Curcumin reduces pain after spinal cord injury in rats by decreasing oxidative stress and increasing GABAA receptor and GAD65 levels","volume":"15","author":"Hadadi","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1568551","DOI":"10.3389\/fchem.2025.1568551","article-title":"Exploring the therapeutic mechanism of curcumin in spinal cord injury treatment based on network pharmacology, molecular dynamics simulation, and experimental validation","volume":"13","author":"He","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Chem."},{"key":"B14","article-title":"Controlled release of thrombin-inhibitor from injectable Hydrogel modulates gliosis after Spinal cord injury","author":"Hogan","year":"2018","journal-title":"J J. neurotrauma"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jconrel.2023.04.002","article-title":"In situ delivery of a curcumin-loaded dynamic hydrogel for the treatment of chronic peripheral neuropathy","volume":"357","author":"Kong","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Control. release official J. Control. Release Soc."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"357","DOI":"10.30466\/vrf.2024.2014162.4040","article-title":"Preparation and evaluation of controlled released implant containing mesoporous selenium nanoparticles loaded with curcumin in rats with spinal cord injury","volume":"15","author":"Lajmiri","year":"2024","journal-title":"Veterinary Res. forum Int. Q. J."},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14283","DOI":"10.1021\/acsnano.9b07598","article-title":"A MnO(2) nanoparticle-dotted Hydrogel promotes spinal cord repair via regulating reactive oxygen species microenvironment and synergizing with mesenchymal stem cells","volume":"13","author":"Li","year":"","journal-title":"ACS Nano"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/advs.201900180","article-title":"Colonic injuries induced by inhalational exposure to particulate-matter air pollution","volume":"6","author":"Li","year":"","journal-title":"Adv. Sci. Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Ger."},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10811","DOI":"10.1021\/acsnano.2c02898","article-title":"Stimulation by exosomes from Hypoxia preconditioned human umbilical vein endothelial cells facilitates mesenchymal stem cells angiogenic function for spinal cord repair","volume":"16","author":"Li","year":"2022","journal-title":"ACS Nano"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"140819","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijbiomac.2025.140819","article-title":"An injectable responsive exosome-releasing hydrogel based on sodium alginate restores motor and bladder function by alleviating the injury microenvironment and facilitating distal nerve repair","volume":"304","author":"Lin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. J. Biol. Macromol."},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1461708","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2024.1461708","article-title":"Biomaterial-mediated delivery of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for spinal cord injury: a systematic review","volume":"15","author":"Liu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front. Pharmacol."},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bioactmat.2021.05.039","article-title":"An injectable, self-healing, electroconductive extracellular matrix-based hydrogel for enhancing tissue repair after traumatic spinal cord injury","volume":"7","author":"Luo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Bioact. Mater."},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2093","DOI":"10.3390\/cells9092093","article-title":"Dim light at night induced neurodegeneration and ameliorative effect of curcumin","volume":"9","author":"Namgyal","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cells"},{"key":"B24","article-title":"A digital bridge between brain and spinal cord restores walking after paralysis","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"479","DOI":"10.1007\/s00401-007-0332-4","article-title":"Curcumin inhibits aggregation of alpha-synuclein","volume":"115","author":"Pandey","year":"2008","journal-title":"Acta Neuropathol."},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1053","DOI":"10.1016\/j.biotechadv.2014.04.004","article-title":"Curcumin, a component of golden spice: from bedside to bench and back","volume":"32","author":"Prasad","year":"2014","journal-title":"Biotechnol. Adv."},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"eado9120","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.ado9120","article-title":"Integrating hydrogels manipulate ECM deposition after spinal cord injury for specific neural reconnections via neuronal relays","volume":"10","author":"Tan","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. Adv."},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6674","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemmater.4c00507","article-title":"Boronate Ester hydrogels for biomedical applications: challenges and opportunities","volume":"36","author":"Terriac","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chem. Mater"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"172","DOI":"10.1007\/s11626-023-00846-3","article-title":"Administration with curcumin alleviates spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating anti-oxidative stress and microglia activation-mediated neuroinflammation via Nrf2\/NF-\u03baB axis","volume":"60","author":"Wu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Vitro Cell Dev. Biol. Anim."},{"key":"B30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1002\/med4.49","article-title":"Salamanders aid research into mechanisms of non\u2010canonical organ regeneration for clinical applications","volume":"2","author":"Yin","year":"2024","journal-title":"Med. Adv."},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"118246","DOI":"10.1016\/j.carbpol.2021.118246","article-title":"Chitosan\/gelatin-tannic acid decorated porous tape suture with multifunctionality for tendon healing","volume":"268","author":"Zhang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Carbohydr. Polym."},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"tkaf049","DOI":"10.1093\/burnst\/tkaf049","article-title":"Research progress of responsive electrospun dressings for precise monitoring and treatment of diabetic wounds","author":"Zhou","year":"2025","journal-title":"Burns and Trauma"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1655686\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]],"date-time":"2025-09-02T05:34:47Z","timestamp":1756791287000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1655686\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]]},"references-count":32,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1655686"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fbioe.2025.1655686","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-4185"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-4185","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]]},"article-number":"1655686"}}