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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
Combining Peripheral Nerve Grafting and Matrix Modulation to Repair the Injured Rat Spinal Cord
Published on: November 20, 2009
Nerve stepping stone has minimal impact in aiding regeneration across long acellular nerve allografts
Ying Yan1, Daniel A Hunter1, Lauren Schellhardt1
1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8238, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, USA.
Introduction:
Acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) yield less consistent favorable outcomes compared with autografts for long gap reconstructions. We evaluated whether a hybrid ANA can improve 6-cm gap reconstruction.
Methods:
Rat sciatic nerve was transected and repaired with either 6-cm hybrid or control ANAs. Hybrid ANAs were generated using a 1-cm cellular isograft between 2.5-cm ANAs, whereas control ANAs had no isograft. Outcomes were assessed by graft gene and marker expression (n = 4; at 4 weeks) and motor recovery and nerve histology (n = 10; at 20 weeks).
Results:
Hybrid ANAs modified graft gene and marker expression and promoted modest axon regeneration across the 6-cm defect compared with control ANA (P < 0.05), but yielded no muscle recovery. Control ANAs had no appreciable axon regeneration across the 6-cm defect.
Discussion:
A hybrid ANA confers minimal motor recovery benefits for regeneration across long gaps. Clinically, the authors will continue to reconstruct long nerve gaps with autografts. Muscle Nerve 57: 260-267, 2018.
