Advances in experimental and clinical studies of chemotaxis

The theory of chemotaxis has been widely accepted, but its mechanisms are disputed. Chemotactic growth of peripheral nerves may be tissue, topographic and end-organ specific. Recent studies indicated that peripheral nerve regeneration lacks topographic specificity, but whether it has end-organ specificity is disputed. Chemotaxis in nerve regeneration is affected by the distance between stumps, volume, and neurotrophic support, as well as the structure of distal nerve stumps. It can be applied to achieve precise repair of nerves and complete recovery of end organ function. Small gap sleeve bridging technique, which is based on this theory shows promising effects but it is still challenging to find the perfect combination of nerve conduits, cells and neurotrophic factors to put it intoits best use. In this paper, we made a comprehensive review of mechanisms, effect factors and applications of chemotaxis.