[Cultured Schwann cells in vivo promoting regeneration of peripheral nerves: an experimental study]

It is recognized that Schwann cells produce several substances which promote peripheral nerve regeneration. This study examines the hypothesis that cultured Schwann cells can stimulate axonal regeneration in vivo, using histological and electrophysiological observations. The Schwann cells were collected from the sciatic nerves of 1-day-old Sprague-Dawley strain rats and propagated with cytosine arabinoside and cholera toxin. The purified Schwann cells were then suspended in type I collagen gel and injected into a nerve guide which was made from a silicone tube. The sciatic nerve of other Sprague-Dawley strain rats were then transected, and both nerve stumps were sutured into each end of the nerve guide leaving a 12 mm gap between the stumps. These rats were then divided into three groups; S-1 Group (n = 14) having the tube filled with 10(5) Schwann cells/ml and collagen gel, S-2 Group (n = 34) having the tube filled with 10(7) cells/ml and collagen gel; and C Group (n = 27) having the tube filled only with the collagen gel, as controls. Also, to investigate the survival duration of the cultured Schwann cells, a nerve guide tube (M Group: n = 25) was packed with a millipore membrane at both ends and viability of Schwann cells in the tube was followed.