Peripheral nerve repair: role of agarose matrix density on functional recovery

This study presents quantitative data on the functional reinnervation of sweat glands, muscle and skin in the mouse paw after resection of the sciatic nerve and repair by entubulation with silicone tubes prefilled with agarose gels of different concentrations. The rate and the degree of functional recovery of animals with chambers filled with 0.5% agarose gels were slightly higher than with 1% agarose, and significantly higher than with 2% agarose. All these three groups recovered significantly better than a fourth group with an unrepaired resection. We conclude that peripheral nerves can regenerate through agarose gels in vvio and reinnervate distal target organs, but the concentration and the density of the exogenous intratubular matrix are important factors in determining the success of nerve regeneration and reinnervation.