Cauda equina repair in the rat: Part 3. Axonal regeneration across Schwann cell—Seeded collagen foam

Abstract

Introduction: Treatments for patients with cauda equina injury are limited. Methods: In this study, we first used retrograde labeling to determine the relative contributions of cauda equina motor neurons to intrinsic and extrinsic rat tail muscles. Next, we transected cauda equina ventral roots and proceeded to bridge the proximal and distal stumps with either a type I collagen scaffold coated in laminin (CL) or a collagenlaminin scaffold that was also seeded with Schwann cells (CLSC). Regeneration was assessed by way of serial retrograde labeling. Results: After accounting for the axonal contributions to intrinsic vs. extrinsic tail muscles, we noted a higher degree of double labeling in the CLSC group (58.0 6 39.6%) as compared with the CL group (27.8 6 16.0%; P 5 0.02), but not the control group (33.5 6 18.2%; P 5 0.10). Discussion: Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using CLSCs in cauda equina injury repair.