Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2021, Vol. 16 ›› Issue (1): 143-149.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.286977

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A novel tissue engineered nerve graft constructed with autologous vein and nerve microtissue repairs a long-segment sciatic nerve defect

Jing Wang1, 3, #, Ya-Qiong Zhu2, 3, 4, #, Yu Wang3, 5, Hong-Guang Xu1, Wen-Jing Xu3, #br# Yue-Xiang Wang2, Xiao-Qing Cheng3, Qi Quan3, Yong-Qiang Hu6, Chang-Feng Lu3, Yan-Xu Zhao7, Wen Jiang8, Chen Liu1, Liang Xiao1, Wei Lu9, Chen Zhu10, *,  Ai-Yuan Wang3, 5, *   

  1. 1 Spine Research Center of Wannan Medical College, Key Laboratory of Non-coding RNA Transformation Research of Anhui Higher Education Institution (Wannan Medical College), Department of Spine Surgery, Yijishan Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui Province, China;  2 Department of Ultrasound, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China;   3 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Key Laboratory of Musculoskeletal Trauma & War Injuries PLA, Beijing Key Lab of Regenerative Medicine in Orthopedics, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China;  4 Medical College of Nankai University, Tianjin, China;   5 The Neural Regeneration Co-Innovation Center of Jiangsu Province, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China;   6 Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China;   7 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Yan’an University Affiliated Hospital, Yan’an, Shaanxi Province, China;   8 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China;   9 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First Peoples’ Hospital of Yunnan Province, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China;   10 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China, Heifei, Anhui Province, China
  • Online:2021-01-15 Published:2020-11-26
  • Contact: Ai-Yuan Wang, MM, wangaiyuan301@126.com; Chen Zhu, MD, zhuchena@ustc.edu.cn. #Both authors contributed equally to this work.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Nos. 31771052 (to YW), 81671684 (to YXW), 81871788 (to CZ); National Key Research and Development Program of China, Nos. 2017YFA0104702, 2017YFA0104703; the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing of China, No. 7172202 (to YW); PLA Youth Training Project for Medical Science of China, No. 16QNP144 (to YW), the Project for Science and Technology Leader of Anhui Province of China, No. 2018H177 (to CZ); Funding of “Panfeng” Innovation Team Project for Scientifc Research of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, China, No. PF2019007 (to HGX); Funding of “Peak” Training Program for Scientifc Research of Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, China, No. GF2019T02 (to HGX).

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Abstract: Veins are easy to obtain, have low immunogenicity, and induce a relatively weak inflammatory response. Therefore, veins have the potential to be used as conduits for nerve regeneration. However, because of the presence of venous valves and the great elasticity of the venous wall, the vein is not conducive to nerve regeneration. In this study, a novel tissue engineered nerve graft was constructed by combining normal dissected nerve microtissue with an autologous vein graft for repairing 10-mm peripheral nerve defects in rats. Compared with rats given the vein graft alone, rats given the tissue engineered nerve graft had an improved sciatic static index, and a higher amplitude and shorter latency of compound muscle action potentials. Furthermore, rats implanted with the microtissue graft had a higher density and thickness of myelinated nerve fibers and reduced gastrocnemius muscle atrophy compared with rats implanted with the vein alone. However, the tissue engineered nerve graft had a lower ability to repair the defect than autogenous nerve transplantation. In summary, although the tissue engineered nerve graft constructed with autologous vein and nerve microtissue is not as effective as autologous nerve transplantation for repairing long-segment sciatic nerve defects, it may nonetheless have therapeutic potential for the clinical repair of long sciatic nerve defects. This study was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Chinese PLA General Hospital (approval No. 2016-x9-07) on September 7, 2016.

Key words: in vivo, injury, motor, neurological function, peripheral nerve injury, rat, recovery, regeneration, repair