Combination sciatic nerve graft and fibroblastic growth factor 2 promotestissue regeneration for NF-200 and 5-HT in spinal cord injury

Traumatic injury to the spinal cord results in a rapid and significant loss of function. One barrier to successful regeneration in the adult CNS is the diminished axonal growth capacity after maturation. Therefore, strategies that seek to promote the restoration of function to the chronically injured spinal cord have high therapeutic value. Neurotrophic factors and peripheral nerves are known to be good substrates for bridging the lesions associatedwith CNS trauma. The role of fibroblast growth factor-2, when added to the sciatic nerve, was examined following spinal cord injury in a rat. We evaluated whether FGF-2 added to a sciatic nerve graft placed in a gap promoted nerve recovery following a complete transection of the spinal cord and if it could enhance neuronal plasticity. Rats underwent a transection at the thoracic level, which was repaired with saline or a fragment of the sciatic nerve. In another group, FGF-2 was added immediately after thelesion. The effects of FGF-2 and the fragment of the sciatic nerve graft on neuronal plasticity were investigated at the epicenterof the injury using NF-200 and 5-HT immunoreactivity after 8 weeks.A high number of NF-200 and 5-HT immunoreactive fibers were observed in the treated groups with sciatic nerve graft in the presence or absence of FGF-2 when compared to the saline group. However, a small number of NF-200(p=0.03)and 5-HT fibers were observed in the epicenter of the graft when FGF-2 was added,when compared to the group that received sciatic nerve graft. These results indicate that sciatic nerve grafting favors the growth of fibers in the traumatized spinal cord, an effect that is slightly influenced by the addition of FGF-2 to the NF-200 and 5-HT immunoreactive fibers