Modification of fibrin matrix formation in situ enhances nerve regeneration in silicone chambers.

The spatial-temporal progress of nerve regeneration was examined in silicone chambers of three different volume capacities: 11, 25, and 75 microliter. In all chambers, the stumps of a transected rat sciatic nerve were sutured into the ends of the chamber leaving a 10 mm gap between the stumps. Chambers were implanted empty (E chambers) or prefilled with saline (PF chambers). A coaxial and continuous fibrin matrix had formed in all chambers by 1 week. In E chambers, the matrices had a proximal-distal taper that was more pronounced in E25 and E75 chambers due to significantly larger matrix diameters in the proximal region. At 3 weeks, vascular and Schwann cell migration and axonal regeneration were less advanced in the E25 and E75 than in the control E11 chambers. The retardation correlated with the presence of an avascular organization of circumferential cells. Saline prefilling affected the caliber and density of fibrin fibers in the 1 week matrices of PF25 and PF75 chambers. The matrices did not have a prominent taper and diameters were progressively larger with increasing chamber volume. Saline prefilling did not affect regeneration progress in 3 week PF11 chambers but did enhance regeneration in the PF25 chambers; a 1.5-fold larger diameter nerve formed at 3 weeks that contained 2.6-fold more axons. Progress in the PF75 chamber was retarded. We conclude that the volume, timing, and nature of the fluid filling a silicone chamber have significant influence on the formation of fibrin matrices. Alterations in matrix formation correlate with substantial changes in the subsequent progress of intrachamber regeneration events.