Axonal growth in mesothelial chambers: effects of a proximal preconditioning lesion and/or predegeneration of the distal nerve stump

Preformed, autologous mesothelial chambers were utilized to study axonal growth following selective predegeneration of the distal nerve stump and/or preconditioning of the proximal nerve stump. The left and/or right sciatic nerve of rats was exposed and transected in the thigh. Two weeks after transection, the left proximal nerve stump was cross-anastomosed with the right distal nerve stump by using a mesothelial chamber leaving a 15-mm gap between the two nerve stumps. Previous studies have shown that axonal overgrowth normally does not occur over this gap distance to the distal stump. Three months after cross-anastomosing, regeneration across the 15-mm gap was evaluated by muscle action potential recordings and light microscopical examination. In experiments in which a distal nerve stump was selectively degenerated and the proximal segment was freshly cut, axons had bridged the 15-mm gap in six of seven rats. When a proximal preconditioned nerve stump was matched with a freshly cut distal stump, axonal overgrowth occurred in only 4 of 10 experiments. In experiments including a proximal preconditioned nerve stump and a distal predegenerated stump, axons bridged the gap in 6 of 8 experiments. We concluded that a priming lesion, including manipulation with proximal and/or distal stump, enhances axonal growth in mesothelial chambers.