Study On The Preparation Of Poiycaproiactone/Chitosan Nerve Conduit Combined With Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells To Promote Sciatic Nerve Injury Repair In Rats

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of polycaprolactone/chitosan(PCL/CS)nerve conduitcombined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)for repairingsciatic nerve defect in rats.MethodsTwenty four SD rats were made a model of5mm right sciatic nerve defect inlength and were randomly divided into four groups,group A:PCL/CS nerveconduit combined with BMSCs transplantation;group B:PCL nerve conduitcombined with BMSCs transplantation;group C:CS nerve conduit combined withBMSCs transplantation;group D:autograft nerve.Sciatic function index(SFI)wasevaluated every2weeks after surgery and tests of electrophysiology,the weightratio of the gastrocnemius muscles,histological observation andimmunohistochemistry were performed at12weeks postimplantation.ResultsThe sciatic nerve of the four groups recovered progressively as revealed byan SFI score tested from2weeks postoperatively to the end of theexperiment.The recovery rate of motor function of group A was higher incomparison to group B and C but lower than that of group D.At12weekspostoperatively,there were nerve regeneration in group A,B and C.Compared the test results of electrophysiology and the weight ratio of the gastrocnemiusmuscles in group A with that in group C and D,there were not statisticallysignificant(P>0.05),but that in group A better than that in group B and there werestatistically significant between group A and B(P<0.05).Histologicalobservation:the regenerative nerve of group A lined up intensively and therewere many vessels.S-100protein immunohistochemistry showed there weremuch more regenerating Schwann cells in group A.ConclusionsPCL/CS nerve conduit combined with BMSCs can promote peripheralnerve injury repair and its result is the same as CS nerve conduit and autograftnerve but better than PCL nerve conduit.