Translational Neuroscience and Clinics
ISSN print edition: 2096-0441
ISSN electronic edition: 2096-0670
CN print edition: 10-1319/R
CN electronic edition: 11-6030/R
DOI
Vol. 1, No. 1, September 2015, pp 25–30
10.18679/CN11-6030/R.2015.005
Research Article
Controlled release of nerve growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor combined with small‐gap anastomosis enhances sciatic nerve regeneration Xiyuan Wang1, Lin Chen2 (), Huancong Zuo2, Huagang Liu2, Liu Ji2, Shanker Sharma Hari3, Sharma Aruna3, Qiang Ao1,2 () Department of Tissue Engineering, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China Department of Neurosurgery, Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital, Beijing 100040, China 3 Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Research, Department of Surgical Sciences Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala Se‐75185, Sweden 1 2
ARTICLE INFO Received: 20 March 2015 Revised: 15 May 2015 Accepted: 29 May 2015 © The authors 2015. This article is published with open access at www.TNCjournal.com
KEYWORDS peripheral nerve injury; nerveanastomosis; growth factor; controlled release
ABSTRACT Objectives: Nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injury is a slow process with a limited degree of functional recovery, resulting in a high disability rate. Thus, accelerating the rate of nerve regeneration and improving the degree of nerve repair is a clinical challenge. This study aimed to investigate the role of growth factor gel combined with small‐gap nerve anastomosis in the regeneration of sciatic nerve injury in rats. This was achieved by injecting nerve growth factor (NGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gel into a silicon chamber that bridged the transection of the nerve. Methods: In 27 randomly chosen Sprague Dawley rats, a sharp blade was used to transect the right hind leg sciatic nerve. The rats were divided into 3 groups: in groups A and B, silicon tubes containing NGF and bFGF gel or saline, respectively, were used to bridge the nerve proximal and distal ends (3‐mm gap), and in group C, the nerve proximal and distal ends were directly sutured. Eight weeks after surgery, the sciatic nerve function index, neural electrophysiology, and muscle wet weight as well as histological, ultrastructural, and immunohistochemical parameters were evaluated. Results: The sciatic nerve function index, nerve conduction velocity, muscle wet weight, density of regenerated nerve fibers, and myelination in group A were better than those in group B or C, but the sciatic nerve function index, muscle wet weight, and thickness of myelination in the 3 groups were not significantly different (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences innerve conduction velocity between groups A and B (P > 0.05), but it was higher in both groups than that of group C (P