AXONAL REGENERATION THROUGH HEAT PRETREATED MUSCLE AUTOGRAFTS

We have compared the regeneration of axons through frozen-thawed or he ated muscle autografts in the sciatic nerve of adult rats. Our results have shown that axons regenerate through muscle grafts which had been either frozen-thawed or heated to 60 degrees C prior to transplantati on. However, axons failed to regenerate through muscle grafts which ha d been pre-heated to 80 degrees C. We speculate that this difference m ag be related to the thermal lability of components of muscle basal la mina, such as laminin and fibronectin, which are known to play an impo rtant role in axonal outgrowth.