RATE OF REGENERATION OF DAMAGED SPINAL AXONS INTO PERIPHERAL NERVE GRAFTS IN ADULT RAT / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Cho and So studied, with horseradish peroxidase retrograde tracing technique, the initial delay time and the rate of regrowth of damaged retinal ganglion cell axons regenerating into the autologous sciatic nerve implanted into the retinae in adult hamsters. This is the only report, to our knowledge, on the rate of regeneration of damaged central neuron axons. The present experiment tackles this issue using autologous sciatic nerve transplantation into the dorsal horn of the damaged spinal cord in adult rats, a model introduced by David and Aguayo, and visualized the regenerating axons with anti-neurofilament monoclonal antibody immunohistochemical method. Our results are as follows the minimum initial delay time of the regenerating spinal axons in peripheral nerve grafts is 4 days. After which axons continue to regrow into the grafts within a definite period, suggesting different initial delay time for different regenerating axons. The regenerating spinal axons differ in their rate of regrowth, the fastest rate being 2.14 mm/d.