Exogenous ganglioside stimulation of axonal regeneration after nerve transection and entubulation repair.

Adult male mice received sciatic nerve transection at the midthigh level and both nerve stumps were sutured into a polyethylene tube (PT) to bridge a nerve gap of 4 mm. The tubes were implanted either empty, or filled with collagen alone or in combination with gangliosides (GM1, GD1a, GD1b and GT1b). Following a survival time of 6 weeks, the PT with the regenerating nerve cables were processed for plastic embedding, and morphometric measurements were made on myelinated and unmyelinated axons. The data suggest that local application of exogenous gangliosides causes a stimulation of axonal sprouting in vivo with no effect on the rate of axonal maturation.