Study on repair of sciatic nerve lesions using acellular nerves implanted with adipose tissue-derived stromal cells

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of using adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs)into a tissue-engineered peripheral nerve on bridging sciatic nerve gaps.Methods Forty-eight F344 female rats weighing 200 - 220 g were randomly divided into 6 groups of nerve grafting to repair 15 mm long asiatic nerve lesions,with 8 mrs in each group.Group A:ADSCs-laden acellular nerves;group B:differentiated ADSCs-laden acellular nerves;group C:Schwann cells-laden acellular nerves;group D:acellular nerves without cells;group E:autografts;group F:nonimplanted grafts.The effects were evaluated in terms of electrophysiulogy,Fluorogold retrograde tracing,histology and tracking studies.Results At 12 weeks after surgery,there was no graft bridging nerve gap in nonimplanted grafts.All the examinations of group A and B were better than group D,respectively (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).But there were no statistically significant differences among group A,B,C,and D (P＞0.05).Conclusion ADSCs and differentiated ADSCs could promote nerve regeneration when used as seed cells to build tissue-engineered peripheral nerves with acellular nerve scaffolds. Key words: Adipose derived stromal cells; Schwann cells; Tissue engineering; Nerve graft; Microsurgery