Peripheral nerve repair with fat precursor cells led to wider nerves and less mu

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Peripheral nerve repair with fat precursor cells led to wider nerves and less

muscle atrophy

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/ctco-pnr061609.php

To determine if guided fat (adipose) precursor cells (APCs) could improve nerve

regeneration and functional recovery, researchers at the University of

Pittsburgh (USA) used biodegradable nerve guides to transplant APCs into the

injured peripheral nerves of laboratory rats.

" Adipose tissues, shown to be multipotent, have also been shown to be an

abundant source of post-natal precursor cells that are relatively easy to

isolate from fat tissue and in sufficient amounts to be injected immediately

post-isolation, " said Dr. Kacey Marra, lead author of a study published in the

current issue of the journal Cell Transplantation (18:2).

Adipose precursor cells, said Marra and co-authors, have demonstrated an ability

to differentiate in vitro into cartilage (chondrogenic), bone (osteogenic), fat

(adipogenic) and muscle (myogenic) cell types.

Control groups for this study included those with no treatment, those receiving

an autograft but no nerve guide tube, and those receiving an autograft and nerve

guide tube but no APC transplant in the guide tube.

Researchers noted that the " gold standard " for nerve repair is the autograft to

repair nerve gaps. Pre-clinical studies have shown that including Schwann cells

within nerve conduits can enhance nerve regeneration. However, the incorporation

of Schwann cells requires a second surgery, renders a secondary nerve

nonfunctional, and requires Schwann cells in high numbers that are clinically

challenging to obtain.

According to the researchers, significant differences in the sciatic functional

index (SFI) were observed three weeks post-injury in the autografted,

APC-transplanted group using nerve guides over a control group in which nerve

guides were left empty. Researchers also observed the formation of a more robust

nerve accompanied by modestly decreased muscle atrophy in the APC-transplanted

group. No differences were observed after 12 weeks, however.

" We found that full regeneration of the sciatic nerve occurred in the rats

receiving the autograft, the guide, and the guide loaded with APCs. No

regeneration was observed in any of the rats in which the defect was left

untreated, " said Marra.

Their results also showed that transplanted human-derived APCs survived for up

to 12 weeks in the injured peripheral nerve and formed a more robust nerve with

nerve cells more than double the size of those formed using the conduit alone.

" The versatility of adult precursor cells, such as those from adipose, for the

treatment of a number of disorders is promising and this study demonstrates

their potential benefit towards nerve repair, " said section editor Dr.

Sladek, professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Colorado

School of Medicine.