Department of Orthopaedics, General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300052, China.
Chin Med J (Engl). 2011 Dec;124(23):3925-9.
Peripheral nerve injury causes a high rate of disability and a huge economic burden, and is currently one of the serious health problems in the world. The use of nerve grafts plays a vital role in repairing nerve defects. Acellular nerve grafts have been widely used in many experimental models as a peripheral nerve substitute. The purpose of this study was to test the biomechanical properties of acellular nerve grafts.
Thirty-four fresh sciatic nerves were obtained from 17 adult male Wistar rats (age of 3 months) and randomly assigned to 3 groups: normal control group, nerve segments underwent no treatment and were put in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) and stored at 4°C until further use; physical method group, nerve segments were frozen at -196°C and then thawed at 37°C; and chemical method group, nerve segments were chemically extracted with the detergents Triton X-200, sulfobetaine-10 (SB-10) and sulfobetaine-16 (SB-16). After the acellularization process was completed, the structural changes of in the sciatic nerves in each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining and field emission scanning electron microscopy, then biomechanical properties were tested using a mechanical apparatus (Endura TEC ELF 3200, Bose, Boston, USA).
Hematoxylin-eosin staining and field emission scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the effects of acellularization, demyelination, and integrity of nerve fiber tube of the chemical method were better than that of the physical method. Biomechanical testing showed that peripheral nerve grafts treated with the chemical method resulted in some decreased biomechanical properties (ultimate load, ultimate stress, ultimate strain, and mechanical work to fracture) compared with normal control nerves, but the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05).
Nerve treated with the chemical method may be more appropriate for use in implantation than nerve treated with the physical method.
周围神经损伤导致高残疾率和巨大的经济负担，是目前世界上严重的健康问题之一。神经移植物的使用在修复神经缺损中起着至关重要的作用。去细胞神经移植物已广泛应用于许多实验模型中作为周围神经替代物。本研究旨在测试去细胞神经移植物的生物力学特性。
从 17 只成年雄性 Wistar 大鼠（3 月龄）中获得 34 根新鲜坐骨神经，并将其随机分为 3 组：正常对照组，神经段未经处理，置于 pH7.4 的磷酸盐缓冲液中，在 4°C 下保存，直至进一步使用；物理方法组，神经段在-196°C 下冷冻，然后在 37°C 下解冻；化学方法组，用去污剂 Triton X-200、磺基甜菜碱-10（SB-10）和磺基甜菜碱-16（SB-16）对神经段进行化学提取。去细胞化过程完成后，通过苏木精-伊红染色和场发射扫描电子显微镜观察各组坐骨神经的结构变化，然后使用机械装置（Endura TEC ELF 3200，Bose，Boston，USA）测试生物力学性能。
苏木精-伊红染色和场发射扫描电子显微镜显示，化学方法的去细胞化、脱髓鞘和神经纤维管完整性效果优于物理方法。生物力学测试表明，与正常对照神经相比，用化学方法处理的周围神经移植物的一些生物力学性能（极限载荷、极限应力、极限应变和断裂力学功）有所降低，但差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。
与物理方法处理的神经相比，用化学方法处理的神经可能更适合植入。
