title: End-to-Side Neurorrhaphy as Schwann Cells Provider to Acellular Nerve Allograft and Its Suitable Application.
abstract: Axonal regeneration relies on support from proliferating host Schwann cells (SCs), and previous studies on acellular nerve allografts (ANGs) suggest that axons can regenerate into ANGs within a limited distance. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the supplementation of ANGs with exogenous factors, such as cultured SCs, stem cells, and growth factors, promote nerve regeneration in ANGs. However, there are several problems associated with their utilization. In this study, we investigated whether end-to-side (ETS) neurorrhaphy, which is an axonal provider, could be useful as an SC provider to support axonal elongation in ANGs. We found that ETS neurorrhaphy effectively promoted SC migration into ANGs when an epineurium window combined with partial neurectomy was performed, and the effectiveness increased when it was applied bilaterally. When we transplanted ANGs containing migrated SCs via ETS neurorrhaphy (hybrid ANGs) to the nerve gap, hybrid ANGs increased the number of regenerated axons and facilitated rapid axonal elongation, particularly when ETS neurorrhaphy was applied to both edges of the graft. This approach may represent a novel application of ETS neurorrhaphy and lead to the development of hybrid ANGs, making ANGs more practical in a clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidekazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Daiki
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Senda
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuhei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Natori
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Rica
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayato
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D064591:Allografts; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement; D058948:Cell Tracking / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D023421:Models, Animal; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D016067:Nerve Transfer; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000502:physiology*