title: Aspiration of a cervical spinal contusion injury in preparation for delayed peripheral nerve grafting does not impair forelimb behavior or axon regeneration.
abstract: A peripheral nerve graft model was used to examine axonal growth after a unilateral cervical (C) contusion injury in adult rats and to determine if manipulation of an injury site prior to transplantation affects spontaneous behavioral recovery. After a short delay (7 d) the epicenter of a C4 contusion was exposed and aspirated without harming the cavity walls followed by apposition with one end of a pre-degenerated tibial nerve to the rostral cavity wall. After a longer delay (28 d) the aspirated cavity was treated with GDNF to promote regeneration by chronically injured neurons. In both groups forelimb and hindlimb locomotor scores decreased significantly 2 d after lesion site manipulation, but by 7 d, the forelimb score was not different from the pre-manipulation score. There was no significant difference in grid walking or grip strength scores for the affected forelimb in either group 7 d after contusion vs. 7 d after manipulation. Over 1500 brain stem and propriospinal neurons grew axons into the graft with either delay. These results demonstrate that a contusion injury site can be manipulated prior to transplantation without causing long-lasting forelimb or hindlimb behavioral deficits and that peripheral nerve grafts support axonal growth after acute or chronic contusion injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19129, USA.
authors.forename: Harra R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Sandrow
authors.forename: Jed S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Shumsky
authors.forename: Arthi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Houle
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053331:Ectodysplasins / Q000378:metabolism; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D005552:Forelimb / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D013396:Suction / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D053331:Ectodysplasins; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein