Chondroitinase ABC improves recovery of long sciatic nerve defects

Sciatic nerves from allogeneic Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with chondroitinase ABC and were used to bridge damaged sciatic nerves in Wistar rats. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans were removed from the chemically extracted acellular nerves. At 3 months after grafting, the footplate pinch test result was positive in the Wistar rats. Autotomy scores decreased, and increased muscular contraction tension appeared when triceps surae muscles were stimulated. In addition, the recovery rate of wet triceps surae muscle weight increased, and the distal segment of the chondroitinase ABC-treated graft exhibited Schwann cells next to the nerve fibers. These results suggested that chondroitinase ABC pretreatment enhanced repair of long nerve defects via acellular nerve grafting.