Identification of adequate vehicles to carry nerve regeneration inducers using tubulisation

• Published in: BMC neuroscience Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 100
• Main Authors: do Nascimento-Elias, Adriana Helena, Fresnesdas, Bruno César, Schiavoni, Maria Cristina Lopes, de Almeida, Natália Fernanda Gaspar, Santos, Ana Paula, de Oliveira Ramos, Jean, Junior, Wilson Marques, Barreira, Amilton Antunes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 14.08.2012; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Agarose; Age; Algae; Animal experimentation; Animal models; Animals; Axons - drug effects; Axons - pathology; Cables; Cell body; Collagen; Collagen - therapeutic use; Colleges & universities; Comparative analysis; Culture medium; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Experiments; Female; Gels; Hospitals; Injuries; Muscles; Nerve Fibers, Myelinated - drug effects; Nerve regeneration; Nerve Regeneration - drug effects; Nerve Regeneration - physiology; Nerves; Nervous system; Neurofibrils; Neuronal plasticity; Peripheral nerves; Pharmaceutical vehicle; Physiological aspects; Prostheses and Implants; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Regeneration; Rodents; Sciatic nerve; Sciatic Nerve - drug effects; Sciatic Nerve - pathology; Sciatic Neuropathy - drug therapy; Sciatic Neuropathy - pathology; Sciatic Neuropathy - surgery; Sepharose - therapeutic use; Silicones; Silicones - therapeutic use; Statistical analysis; Time Factors; Vehicles; Wallerian degeneration; Brazil
• ISSN: 1471-2202; 1471-2202
• DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-13-100

Axonal regeneration depends on many factors, such as the type of injury and repair, age, distance from the cell body and distance of the denervated muscle, loss of surrounding tissue and the type of injured nerve. Experimental models use tubulisation with a silicone tube to research regenerative factors and substances to induce regeneration. Agarose, collagen and DMEM (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium) can be used as vehicles. In this study, we compared the ability of these vehicles to induce rat sciatic nerve regeneration with the intent of finding the least active or inert substance. The experiment used 47 female Wistar rats, which were divided into four experimental groups (agarose 4%, agarose 0.4%, collagen, DMEM) and one normal control group. The right sciatic nerve was exposed, and an incision was made that created a 10 mm gap between the distal and proximal stumps. A silicone tube was grafted onto each stump, and the tubes were filled with the respective media. After 70 days, the sciatic nerve was removed. We evaluated the formation of a regeneration cable, nerve fibre growth, and the functional viability of the regenerated fibres. Comparison among the three vehicles showed that 0.4% agarose gels had almost no effect on provoking the regeneration of peripheral nerves and that 4% agarose gels completely prevented fibre growth. The others substances were associated with profuse nerve fibre growth. In the appropriate concentration, agarose gel may be an important vehicle for testing factors that induce regeneration without interfering with nerve growth.