title: Nerve defect repair by differentiated adipose-derived stem cells and chondroitinase ABC-treated acellular nerves.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effects of differentiated adipose-derived stem cells (dADSC) and chondroitinase ABC (ChABC)-treated acellular nerves (ACN) in building artificial nerves and repairing nerve defects.
  
  
  METHODS
  ADSC were isolated from the adipose tissue of Wistar rats, induced to differentiate into Schwann-like cells, and implanted into ChABC-treated ACN to repair a 15-mm sciatic nerve defect in Sprague-Dawley rats (the experimental group, group D). The control groups were an autologous nerve transplantation group (group E); ACN (group A), ChABC-treated ACN graft group (group B), and dADSC + ACN (group C). Twelve weeks after surgery, electromyography recordings, tricep surae muscle wet weight recovery rate, and axon counts were measured to evaluate the repair of peripheral nerve defects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The nerve conduction velocity, compound muscle action potentials, tricep surae muscle wet weight recovery rate, and myelinated axon counts in the ChABC-ACN/dADSC group were significantly higher than in the other groups (P < 0.05), which were all lower than the autologous group (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of ChABC-treated ACN and dADSC exhibited a synergistic effect in promoting nerve regeneration, and could be an alternative for effective tissue-engineered nerves.
authors.affiliation: a 1Department of Hand & Plastic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Liangfu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: b 2Department of Children Health Care, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: c 3Department of Orthopaedics, Wenzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ou
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: a 1Department of Hand & Plastic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Tinggang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: a 1Department of Hand & Plastic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: a 1Department of Hand & Plastic Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: acellular nerve; adipose-derived stem cells; chondroitinase ABC; nerve regeneration