Abstract:
Peripheral nerve injury requires optimal conditions in both macro-environment and microenvironment for reestablishment. Though various strategies have been carried out to improve
the macro-environment, the underlying molecular mechanism of axon regeneration in the micro-environment provided by nerve conduit remains unclear. In this study, the rat sciatic nerve
of 10 mm defect was made and bridged by PRGD/PDLLA nerve conduit. We investigated the
process of nerve regeneration using histological, functional and real time PCR analyses after
implantation from 7 to 35 days. Our data demonstrated that the ciliary neurotrophic fac-tor
highly expressed and up-regulated the downstream signaling pathways, in the case of acti-vated
signals, the expressions of axon sprout relative proteins, such as tubulin and growth as-sociated
protein-43, were strongly augmented. Taken together, these data suggest a possible mechanism
of axon regeneration promoted by PRGD/PDLLA conduit, which created a micro-environment
for enhancement of diffusion of neurotrophic factors secreted by the injured nerve stumps, and
activation of molecular signal transduction involved in growth cone, to po-tentiate the nerve
recovery.
