ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT FOR PERIPHERAL NERVE REPAIR

THIS PROJECT'S OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP AN ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT FOR REPAIR OF PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURIES. THIS GRAFT WILL CONSIST OF THE PATIENT'S OWN SCHWANN CELLS SEEDED INTO A POLYMER TUBE TO BE IMPLANTED INTO NERVE GAPS. THIS PRODUCT WILL AID IN RESTORING NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTION FOR THE APPROXIMATELY 300,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR WHO SUFFER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. THE SPECIFIC AIMS AND METHODOLOGY ARE: (I) TO ESTABLISH CULTURES OF ADULT SCHWANN CELLS BY THE SEQUENTIAL EXPLANATION METHOD. (II) TO RAPIDLY PURIFY AND EXPAND THESE CULTURES BY AN IMMUNOSELECTION TECHNIQUE. (III) TO SHOW THE ABILITY OF THE ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT TO PROMOTE AXONAL REGENERATION ACROSS A 2 CM NERVE GAP. PURIFIED ADULTSCHWANN CELLS WILL BE SEEDED INTO SEMI-PERMEABLE POLYMER TUBES, WHICH ARE IMPLANTED INTO A 2 CM GAP OF RAT SCIATIC NERVE. AXONAL REGENERATION WILL BE MEASURED BY HISTOLOGICALMETHODS. (IV) TO SHOW AN INCREASE IN SPEED OF NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY BY ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL METHODS. AN ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT WILL PROVIDE A NEW AND EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR BRIDGING NERVE GAPS AND ACHIEVING RELIABLE NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY. IN PHASE I, THE PROOF OF CONCEPT WILL BE ESTABLISHED AND IN PHASE II, THE DESIGN FOR THE ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT WILL BE OPTIMIZED. THIS PROJECT'S OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP AN ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT FOR REPAIR OF PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURIES. THIS GRAFT WILL CONSIST OF THE PATIENT'S OWN SCHWANN CELLS SEEDED INTO A POLYMER TUBE TO BE IMPLANTED INTO NERVE GAPS. THIS PRODUCT WILL AID IN RESTORING NEUROLOGICAL FUNCTION FOR THE APPROXIMATELY 300,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR WHO SUFFER PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY. THE SPECIFIC AIMS AND METHODOLOGY ARE: (I) TO ESTABLISH CULTURES OF ADULT SCHWANN CELLS BY THE SEQUENTIAL EXPLANATION METHOD. (II) TO RAPIDLY PURIFY AND EXPAND THESE CULTURES BY AN IMMUNOSELECTION TECHNIQUE. (III) TO SHOW THE ABILITY OF THE ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT TO PROMOTE AXONAL REGENERATION ACROSS A 2 CM NERVE GAP. PURIFIED ADULTSCHWANN CELLS WILL BE SEEDED INTO SEMI-PERMEABLE POLYMER TUBES, WHICH ARE IMPLANTED INTO A 2 CM GAP OF RAT SCIATIC NERVE. AXONAL REGENERATION WILL BE MEASURED BY HISTOLOGICALMETHODS. (IV) TO SHOW AN INCREASE IN SPEED OF NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY BY ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL METHODS. AN ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT WILL PROVIDE A NEW AND EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR BRIDGING NERVE GAPS AND ACHIEVING RELIABLE NEUROLOGICAL RECOVERY. IN PHASE I, THE PROOF OF CONCEPT WILL BE ESTABLISHED AND IN PHASE II, THE DESIGN FOR THE ARTIFICIAL NERVE GRAFT WILL BE OPTIMIZED.