Peripheral nerve regeneration through a long detergent-denatured muscle autografts in rabbits

Muscle segments excised from rabbit biceps femoris muscles were treated wit h detergent sodium dodecyl sulphate to denature cellular constituents, and each was autografted in a 5 cm gap of the sciatic nerve in the same rabbit. Axonal regrowth through the grafts and reinnervation into the host sciatic nerves and muscles were studied morphologically, and electrophysiologicall y, 4 months after grafting. Regenerating axons accompanied by Schwann cells extended through basal lamina tubes of the grafts into the distal host ner ves. Reinnervation of the tibialis anterior muscles by motor nerves was con firmed by recovery of the compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) and the reinnervation of the muscle spindles was demonstrated by electron microscop y. These findings indicated that the basal lamina tubes of denatured muscle s were effective scaffolds through which the regenerating nerve fibers grew across as large a gap as 5 cm. NeuroReport 12:1719-1722 (C) 2001 Lippincot t Williams & Wilkins.