HAp Thermosensitive Nanohydrogel Cavities Act as Brood Pouches to Incubate and Control‐Release NSCs for Rapid Spinal Cord Injury Therapy

Abstract Limitations such as the cell life span, cellular activity, and cellular diffusion outside the lesion make the direct repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) by neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation challenging. Here, an injectable hydroxyapatite (HAp) thermosensitive nanohydrogel is proposed to achieve stem cell storage and release, as well as fate regulation, for therapy. The cavities formed in situ functioned as brood pouches for cell proliferation. The enzyme‐induced collapse of cavities released mouse NSCs (mNSCs) gradually and continuously. The endocytosis of HAp nanorods by encapsulated mNSCs enhanced the property of mNSC neuronal differentiation. The HAp thermosensitive nanohydrogel with mNSCs exert an inspiring therapeutic effect on a complete transected SCI model and has prospects in material design to improve SCI therapy with stem cells.