The Effect of Cryopreservation of Allograft Nerve on the Recovery of Motor Function |
Seung-Sik Choi1, Ilyong Park2, Jung Keun Hyun3, Jae-Uk Jung4, Jong-Pil Kim4 |
1Department of Kinesiology, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. 4Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea. kimjp@dankook.ac.kr |
Received: 25 July 2019 • Revised: 5 August 2019 • Accepted: 14 August 2019 |
Abstract |
Purpose Peripheral nerve allograft can be an acceptable alternative, but it has not yet become clinically useful because of immune response to foreign tissue. With significant advances in the research and tissue engineering, various alternatives to nerve autograft including synthetic nerve conduit and decellularization have been used, but their therapeutic effects were not satisfactory. The purpose of this study was to confirm the effectiveness of cryopreservation of the allograft nerve as a useful nerve-graft substitute.
Methods A total of 39 Sprague-Dawley rats (recipient) and 13 Lewis rats (donor) weighing 200 g to 300 g were used in this study. Animals were randomly divided 3 groups and received ipsilateral sciatic nerve graft: autograft (group 1), allograft (group 2), and cryopreserved nerve allograft (group 3), Nerve regeneration was evaluated at sixteen weeks on the basis of the animal weight, ankle contracture angle, compound muscle action potential, isometric tetanic muscle force, wet muscle weight of the tibialis anterior muscle, and the histomorphometry.
Results Cryopreserved nerve allograft (group 3) showed superior motor recovery than allograft group (group 2), which was comparable to those of autograft (group 1).
Conclusion Pretreatment of nerve allograft using cryopreservation decreased rejection caused by immune response of the donor and improved motor nerve recovery. In clinical perspective, use of a pretreated nerve allograft can be an alternative to the autograft. |
Key Words:
Nerve, Allograft, Autograft, Cryopreservation, Decellularization |
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