Survival, regeneration and functional recovery of motoneurons after delayed reimplantation of avulsed spinal root in adult rat

Gu, Huaiyu; Chai, Hua; Zhang, Jianyi; Ye, Zhibin; Zhou, Lihua; Wong, Wai-Man; Bruce, Iain C.; Wu, Wutian

doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2004.10.019

Cited by 52 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Since the biceps brachii is mainly innervated by motoneurons from the C6 spinal segment and drives elbow flexion, avulsion of roots C5–7 results in its denervation and elbow flexion disability. Re-implantation of the C6 ventral root provides a bridge that enables motor axons to re-innervate the biceps and restore function [30]. Before surgery, control and mutant mice displayed comparable skills in the grooming test, with a mean score of 5, showing that mice without a CST have normal elbow flexion.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Functional Motor Recovery from Motoneuron Axotomy Is Compromised in Mice with Defective Corticospinal Projections

Ding

Feng

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brachial plexus injury (BPI) and experimental spinal root avulsion result in loss of motor function in the affected segments. After root avulsion, significant motoneuron function is restored by re-implantation of the avulsed root. How much this functional recovery depends on corticospinal inputs is not known. Here, we studied that question using Celsr3|Emx1 mice, in which the corticospinal tract (CST) is genetically absent. In adult mice, we tore off right C5–C7 motor and sensory roots and re-implanted the right C6 roots. Behavioral studies showed impaired recovery of elbow flexion in Celsr3|Emx1 mice compared to controls. Five months after surgery, a reduced number of small axons, and higher G-ratio of inner to outer diameter of myelin sheaths were observed in mutant versus control mice. At early stages post-surgery, mutant mice displayed lower expression of GAP-43 in spinal cord and of myelin basic protein (MBP) in peripheral nerves than control animals. After five months, mutant animals had atrophy of the right biceps brachii, with less newly formed neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and reduced peak-to-peak amplitudes in electromyogram (EMG), than controls. However, quite unexpectedly, a higher motoneuron survival rate was found in mutant than in control mice. Thus, following root avulsion/re-implantation, the absence of the CST is probably an important reason to hamper axonal regeneration and remyelination, as well as target re-innervation and formation of new NMJ, resulting in lower functional recovery, while fostering motoneuron survival. These results indicate that manipulation of corticospinal transmission may help improve functional recovery following BPI.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The biceps brachii is innervated mainly by C6 motoneurons. Avulsion of C5–C7 roots followed by C6 roots re-implantation therefore allows to focus on C6 motoneuron axon regeneration and biceps re-innervation [3], [30], [39], [41], [42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Motor Recovery from Motoneuron Axotomy Is Compromised in Mice with Defective Corticospinal Projections

Ding

Feng

et al. 2014

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The Terzis grooming test [84] was performed on 10 animals that went through the delayed repair surgery. The test was performed and videorecorded twice a week after the repair surgery.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Movement should be bilateral, giving us the opportunity to compare the injured and non-injured side. Grades were given based on the grading scale described in Gu et al [84]. Shortly, 0—no response, 1—flexion at elbow, not reaching the snout, 2—flexion reaching the snout, 3—reaching below the eyes, 4—reaching to the eyes, 5—reaching to the ears and beyond [84].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Transplantation of Embryonic Spinal Cord Derived Cells Helps to Prevent Muscle Atrophy after Peripheral Nerve Injury

Ruven

et al. 2017

IJMS

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Injuries to peripheral nerves are frequent in serious traumas and spinal cord injuries. In addition to surgical approaches, other interventions, such as cell transplantation, should be considered to keep the muscles in good condition until the axons regenerate. In this study, E14.5 rat embryonic spinal cord fetal cells and cultured neural progenitor cells from different spinal cord segments were injected into transected musculocutaneous nerve of 200–300 g female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, and atrophy in biceps brachii was assessed. Both kinds of cells were able to survive, extend their axons towards the muscle and form neuromuscular junctions that were functional in electromyographic studies. As a result, muscle endplates were preserved and atrophy was reduced. Furthermore, we observed that the fetal cells had a better effect in reducing the muscle atrophy compared to the pure neural progenitor cells, whereas lumbar cells were more beneficial compared to thoracic and cervical cells. In addition, fetal lumbar cells were used to supplement six weeks delayed surgical repair after the nerve transection. Cell transplantation helped to preserve the muscle endplates, which in turn lead to earlier functional recovery seen in behavioral test and electromyography. In conclusion, we were able to show that embryonic spinal cord derived cells, especially the lumbar fetal cells, are beneficial in the treatment of peripheral nerve injuries due to their ability to prevent the muscle atrophy.

show abstract

“…Re-implantation of the avulsed ventral root by attachment to the pial surface of rat spinal cords, both immediately after root avulsion and in delay, has been shown to be capable of inducing axonal regeneration of severed motoneurons to reinnervate muscle targets, leading to recovery of hand functions [21,22]. These findings suggest that implantation of the ventral root directly into the parenchyma of the spinal cord is not essential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ventral root re-implantation is better than peripheral nerve transplantation for motoneuron survival and regeneration after spinal root avulsion injury

Yuan

Qin

et al. 2013

BMC Surg

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundPeripheral nerve (PN) transplantation and ventral root implantation are the two common types of recovery operations to restore the connection between motoneurons and their target muscles after brachial plexus injury. Despite experience accumulated over the past decade, fundamental knowledge is still lacking concerning the efficacy of the two microsurgical interventions.MethodsThirty-eight adult female Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups. Immediately following root avulsion, animals in the first group (n = 8) and the second group (n = 8) received PN graft and ventral root implantation respectively. The third group (n = 8) and the fourth group (n = 8) received PN graft and ventral root implantation respectively at one week after root avulsion. The fifth group received root avulsion only as control (n = 6). The survival and axonal regeneration of severed motoneurons were investigated at 6 weeks post-implantation.ResultsRe-implantation of ventral roots, both immediately after root avulsion and in delay, significantly increased the survival and regeneration of motoneurons in the avulsed segment of the spinal cord as compared with PN graft transplantation.ConclusionsThe ventral root re-implantation is a better surgical repairing procedure than PN graft transplantation for brachial plexus injury because of its easier manipulation for re-implanting avulsed ventral roots to the preferred site, less possibility of causing additional damage and better effects on motoneuron survival and axonal regeneration.

show abstract

Survival, regeneration and functional recovery of motoneurons after delayed reimplantation of avulsed spinal root in adult rat

Cited by 52 publications

References 51 publications

Functional Motor Recovery from Motoneuron Axotomy Is Compromised in Mice with Defective Corticospinal Projections

Functional Motor Recovery from Motoneuron Axotomy Is Compromised in Mice with Defective Corticospinal Projections

Transplantation of Embryonic Spinal Cord Derived Cells Helps to Prevent Muscle Atrophy after Peripheral Nerve Injury

Ventral root re-implantation is better than peripheral nerve transplantation for motoneuron survival and regeneration after spinal root avulsion injury

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About