Transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells stimulates the collateral sprouting from axotomized adult rat facial motoneurons.

Axon regrowth after CNS and PNS injury is only the first step toward complete functional recovery which depends largely on the specificity of the newly formed nerve-target projections. Since most of the studies involving the application of glial cells to the lesioned nervous system have focused primarily on the extent of neurite outgrowth, little is known regarding their effects on the accompanying processes of axonal sprouting and pathfinding. In this study, we analyzed the effects of transplanted olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) on axonal sprouting of adult facial neurons by using triple fluorescent retrograde tracing and biometrical analysis of whisking behavior. We found that 2 months after facial nerve axotomy and immediate implantation of OECs in between both nerve stumps fixed in a silicon tube, the total number of labeled neurons was increased by about 100%, compared to animals with simple facial nerve suture or entubulation in an empty conduit. This change in the number of axon sprouts was not random. The highest increase in axon number was observed in the marginal mandibular branch, whereas no changes were detected in the zygomatic branch. This increased sprouting did not improve the whisking behavior as measured by biometric video analysis. Our results demonstrate that OECs are potent inducers of axonal sprouting in vivo. Hence OEC-filled nerve conduits may be a powerful tool to enforce regeneration of a peripheral nerve under adverse conditions, e.g., after long delay between injury and surgical repair. In mixed nerves, increased axonal sprouting will improve specificity since inappropriate nerve-target connections are pruned off during preferential motor innervation. In pure motor nerves, however, OEC-mediated axonal sprouting may result in polyneuronal innveration of target muscles.