Effect of decorin protein administration on rat sciatic nerve injury: an experimental study

Peripheral nerve traumas are common injuries in young adult population. The myriad of techniques and medications have been defined to obtain better recovery but none of them was proved to have superior effect. This study aims to determine the anti-fibrotic effect of the decorin on sciatic nerve injury in order to enhance functional outcome.

24 12-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (350-400 gr) were divided into four groups. The sciatic nerve was dissected and exposed; a full-thickness laceration was created 1.5 cm proximal to the bifurcation point and 1.5 cm distal to where it originated from the lumbosacral plexus. Motor and sensory tests were conducted before and after the operations for evaluating the nerve healing.

There was a statistically significant difference between DCN bolus and PBS bolus group. (p<0.0001, p<0.05) in neuromotor tests. Increase of the latency was significantly lower in DCN bolus and infusion group when compared with the PBS bolus group. (p<0,001). All operated gastrocnemius muscles were atrophic compared with the contralateral side. The differences between the averages in the sciatic functional index, the improvement of the DCN infusion group was 8.6 units better than the PBS group and 4.4 units better than the DCN bolus group. When the amount of stimulation was 10 mV at the proximal segment in electromyography, there was no significant difference between the DCN bolus and sham groups. (p> 0.05, p = 0.6623).

Decorin protein reduces the fibrosis and enhances the motor and sensory recovery both clinically and histologically. Despite the high cost, short half-life and production issues, this protein could be administered after the microsurgical repair but more studies are required to overcome the limitations.