title: Tissue-engineered rhesus monkey nerve grafts for the repair of long ulnar nerve defects: similar outcomes to autologous nerve grafts.
abstract: Acellular nerve allografts can help preserve normal nerve structure and extracellular matrix composition. These allografts have low immunogenicity and are more readily available than autologous nerves for the repair of long-segment peripheral nerve defects. In this study, we repaired a 40-mm ulnar nerve defect in rhesus monkeys with tissue-engineered peripheral nerve, and compared the outcome with that of autograft. The graft was prepared using a chemical extract from adult rhesus monkeys and seeded with allogeneic Schwann cells. Pathomorphology, electromyogram and immunohistochemistry findings revealed the absence of palmar erosion or ulcers, and that the morphology and elasticity of the hypothenar eminence were normal 5 months postoperatively. There were no significant differences in the mean peak compound muscle action potential, the mean nerve conduction velocity, or the number of neurofilaments between the experimental and control groups. However, outcome was significantly better in the experimental group than in the blank group. These findings suggest that chemically extracted allogeneic nerve seeded with autologous Schwann cells can repair 40-mm ulnar nerve defects in the rhesus monkey. The outcomes are similar to those obtained with autologous nerve graft.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Peking Universtiy Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Chang-Qing
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5231-2749
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microscopy, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microscopy, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Microscopy, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Kai
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microscopy, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Sixth People's Hospital of Shenzhen City, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Luo
keywords: Schwann cells; allogenic nerve; autologous nerve; chemical extraction; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; peripheral nerve injury; rhesus monkey; tissue engineering; transplantation; ulnar nerve