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Updated: Mar 26, 2026
Facial Nerve Surgery in the Rat Model to Study Axonal Inhibition and Regeneration
Published on: May 5, 2020
Human olfactory stem cells for injured facial nerve reconstruction in a rat model
Aysegul Batioglu-Karaaltin1, Mehmet Veli Karaaltin2, Olga Nehir Oztel3
1Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medicine Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey.
Background:
The purpose of this study was to show the efficacy of olfactory stem cells for injured facial nerve reconstruction in a rat model.
Methods:
Olfactory stem cells were isolated from the olfactory mucosa of human participants. A 2-mm excision was performed on the right facial nerve of all rats. Reconstruction was performed with a conduit in group 1 (n = 9); a conduit and phosphate-buffered saline in group 2 (n = 9); and a conduit and labeled olfactory stem cell in group 3 (n = 9). Rats were followed for whisker movements and electroneuronography (ENoG) analyses.
Results:
The whisker-movement scores for group 3 were significantly different from other groups (p < .001). ENoG showed that the amplitude values for group 3 were significantly different from group 1 and group 2 (p = .030; p < .001). Group 3 showed marked olfactory stem cell under a fluorescence microscope.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that olfactory stem cells may be used as a potent cellular therapy for accelerating the regeneration of peripheral nerve injuries. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E2011-E2020, 2016.
