Orientated mats of fibronectin as a conduit material for use in peripheral nerve repair

This study introduces a new nerve conduit material consisting of orientated strands of the cell adhesive fibronectin. Axonal regeneration, Schwann cell behaviour and the degree of inflammation were quantified using immunohistochemical techniques and computerized image analysis. The results when fibronectin was used to bridge a 1 cm defect in rat sciatic nerve were compared to those with autologous nerve grafts and freeze-thawed muscle grafts used as controls. The nerve grafts supported the highest rate and amount of axonal regeneration in the first 10 days; however, the fibronectin supported a significantly faster rate of growth (P = 0.0008) and amount (P = 0.0001) of axons than the freeze-thawed muscle grafts. From day 15 onwards, the fibronectin and nerve grafts had comparable amounts of regenerating axons and Schwann cells. We conclude that the orientated form of fibronectin is a suitable material for successful nerve repair and has potential clinical use.