title: Axonal outgrowth in muscle grafts made acellular by chemical extraction.
abstract: Purpose: To compare nerve regeneration in autologous detergent extracted and freeze-thawed muscle grafts and to electrophoretically characterize the grafts. Methods: Autologous acellular muscie grafts were created either by freeze/thawing or by detergent extraction and then used to bridge a 10 mm gap in rat sciatic nerve. The autologous grafts were compared with respect to protein content, using electrophoresis preimplantation, and axonal outgrowth, Schwann cell and macrophage content, using immunocytochemistry (neurofilaments, S-100 protein, ED 1 macrophages) at 5-20 days postimplantation. Results: The extracted muscle grafts were elastic, but the amount of several proteins was reduced and laminin was still present at a position of basal laminae of the muscle fibers. The freeze/thawed grafts were brittle and lacked elasticity, but resulted in minor changes in major proteins. The axons regenerated through both types of grafts (initial delay 6 days and rate 0.7-0.8 mm/day), which shrunk in length by 25%. There were no apparent differences with respect to Schwann cells and macrophages. Conclusions: The results suggest that detergent extracted muscle tissue, in which some basal lamina proteins remain but cells are removed, could present a new favourable option for nerve grafting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanje
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lundborg
authors.forename: Mariann
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sondell
authors.forename: Xiao-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lars B.
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Dahlin