N-CAM promotes recovery in injured nerves

The neural cell adhesion molecule, N-CAM, makes critical contributions to the development of the nervous system. It mediates the stability of homophilic adhesion in embryonic neurons and participates in morphologic differentiation. The goal of these studies was to determine N-CAM contributions to nerve regeneration and recovery of function in two species with an excised segment of sciatic nerve. N-CAM was isolated from embryonic brains, affinity purified and admixed in collagen gel for administration. Recovery was compared 30 days after surgery for two types of N-CAM delivery: entubulization versus direct application. For control nerves, tubes contained gel only. In preliminary chicken studies, latency of nerve responses was measured to demonstrate N-CAM's ability to improve upon spontaneous recovery. In subsequent studies of rodent nerves, the direct application of N-CAM significantly improved recovery in evoked nerve response amplitude, number of regenerated axons and behavioral activity. Results demonstrate N-CAM's ability to augment nerve regeneration and suggest a potential for therapeutic use.