Objective To study the migration of Schwann cells from the nerve autograft in the acellular nerve allograft of the rats in vivo. Mehtods The sciatic nerves (20 mm long) of the SD rats were harvested and prepared for the acellular nerve grafts by the chemical extraction. Then, they were observed by the gross view, HE staining, and Antilamininstaining, respectively. Another 32 female SD rats weighing 250-300 g were obtained for the study. A 2-mm-long nerve autograft was interposed between the two 10-mm-long nerve allografts to form a 22-mm-long composite. Then, the composite was placed in the muscle space, together with a sole 22-mm-long nerve allograftas a control. They were harvested at 5，10，15 and 20 days, respectively, and were then given the HE staining and the S-100 staining. Results The acellular nerve graft was semitransparent under the gross view. HE staining showed that no cell was observed within the nerve graft. Anti-laminin staining showed that the basal membrane was partially interrupted, with a positive result (dark brown). All the nerve grafts in both the groups exhibited the existenceof the cells. The S-100 positive cells were observed from the 15th day at the far ends of the two allografts of the composite; however, there were no suchcells observed within the sole nerve allograft. Conclusion Schwann cells from the sciatic nerves (2 mm- long) of the rats can migrate in the acellular nerve allograft to the far ends of the neighboring 10-mm-long nerve allografts at 15 days after operation, which offers the theoretical basis forthe repair of the longrange nerve defect by the composite of the acellular nerve allografts with the interposed nerve autograft.
Objective To investigate the research advance in repair of the peripheral nerve defect with an acellular nerve allograft. Methods The recent related literature was extensively and comprehensively reviewed. The methods and the effects of the allografts with acellular nerves were analyzed. Results The immunogenicity of the allograft was more significantly relieved by the chemical treatment than by the physicaltreatment. The effect of the chemical treatment on the axon regeneration was better than that of the physical treatment. Conclusion Because of the limitation of the host Schwann cell translation in the longsegment acellular nerve allografts, the effect of Schwann cells is not satisfactory and regeneration of the nerve is limited. So, the recellularized treatment with some related measures can enhance the host Schwann cell translation so that this problem can be solved.