Innervation of Meissner's corpuscles and Merkel ‐cells by transplantation of embryonic dorsal root ganglion cells after peripheral nerve section in rats

• Published in: Journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine Vol. 15; no. 6; pp. 586 - 595
• Main Authors: Asano, Kenichi, Nakano, Tomonori, Tokutake, Katsuhiro, Ishii, Hisao, Nishizuka, Takanobu, Iwatsuki, Katsuyuki, Onishi, Tetsuro, Kurimoto, Shigeru, Yamamoto, Michiro, Tatebe, Masahiro, Hirata, Hitoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Hindawi Limited 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Corpuscles; Degeneration; Dermis; Dermis - innervation; Dorsal root ganglia; dorsal root ganglion; Electrophysiological Phenomena; Embryos; Epidermis - innervation; Ganglia; Ganglia, Spinal - embryology; Ganglia, Spinal - transplantation; Ganglion cells; Innervation; Latency; Male; Mechanoreceptors - physiology; Meissner's corpuscles; Merkel cells; Merkel Cells - physiology; Motor neurons; Nerve endings; Nerve Fibers - pathology; nerve injury; Nervous system; Neural Conduction; Neurites - physiology; Neurodegeneration; Neuromuscular junctions; Neurons; Peripheral nerves; Peripheral Nerves - pathology; Proprioception; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344; Regenerative medicine; Sciatic nerve; sensory neuron transplantation; Sensory neurons; Terminals; Tibial Nerve - pathology; Tissue engineering; Transplantation; sensory neuron transplantation; Meissner's corpuscles; Merkel cells; innervation; dorsal root ganglion; nerve injury
• ISSN: 1932-6254; 1932-7005
• DOI: 10.1002/term.3196

Transplantation of embryonic motor neurons has been shown to improve motor neuron survival and innervation of neuromuscular junctions in peripheral nerves. However, there have been no reports regarding transplantation of sensory neurons and innervation of sensory receptors. Therefore, we hypothesized that the transplantation of embryonic sensory neurons may improve sensory neurons in the skin and innervate Merkel cells and Meissner's corpuscles. We obtained sensory neurons from dorsal root ganglia of 14‐day rat embryos. We generated a rat model of Wallerian‐degeneration by performing sciatic nerve transection and waiting for one week after. Six months after cell transplantation, we performed histological and electrophysiological examinations in naïve control, surgical control, and cell transplantation groups. The number of nerve fibers in the papillary dermis and epidermal‐dermal interface was significantly greater in the cell transplantation than in the surgical control group. The percent of Merkel cells with nerve terminals, as well as the average number of Meissner corpuscles with nerve terminals, were higher in the cell transplantation than in the surgical control group, but differences were not significant between the two groups. Moreover, the amplitude and latency of sensory conduction velocity were evoked in rats of the cell transplantation group. We demonstrated that the transplantation of embryonic dorsal root ganglion cells improved sensory nerve fiber number and innervation of Merkel cells and Meissner's corpuscles in peripheral nerves.