Distribution of albumin-like immunoreactivity in rat sciatic nerve after nerve crush injury.

To understand better the role of local factors in the response of peripheral nerve to crush injury, we studied the distribution of albumin-like immunoreactivity (A-LI) in the rat sciatic nerve from one day to eight weeks (wk) after a crushing injury; we used electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. In the nerve distal to the crush degenerating axons demonstrated intra-axonal A-LI, and by one wk most of the Schwann cells also showed A-LI. As regenerating sprouts entered the distal nerve, those Schwann cells in contact with sprouts lost their A-LI, while those cells not in contact with axons retained immunoreactivity up to eight wk after injury. Proximal to the nerve crush many axons showed intra-axonal A-LI from one to two wk after injury, despite appearing normal ultrastructurally. This immunoreactivity diminished as the distance from the crush site increased. Many Schwann cells proximal to the crush also showed A-LI from one to four wk after injury. These findings suggest that an albumin-like protein may play a role in the response of Schwann cells and axons to injury.