Regeneration of an adult peripheral nerve preparation in culture.

The methods used to maintain the vagus nerve from the adult rat in culture and how regeneration is studied in this preparation are described. A hypothesis is presented on the triggering of the cell body reaction. It is suggested that this reaction is initiated by proteins synthesized in nonneuronal cells at the site of a nerve lesion. These proteins, referred to as regenerins, reach the nerve cell body by retrograde axonal transport, where they initiate the regeneration process.