Chen Lulu, Qi Zuoliang
From the Hair Transplantation Center, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences &Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
General department, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences &Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
Ann Plast Surg. 2025 Jul 1;95(1):63-69. doi: 10.1097/SAP.0000000000004338.
Schwann cells (SC) are foremost seed cells in peripheral nerve repair. Our previous research had succeeded in culturing a new source of SC from tiny nerve fibers of subcutaneous adipose tissue (A-SC) and proved their ability to form myelin sheaths. However, little is known regarding the quality and the microstructure of regenerated nerves after A-SC transplantation.
To further explore the efficacy of A-SC on nerve regeneration, A-SC, sciatic nerve derived Schwann cells (SN-SC) and adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC) from CAG-EGFP transgenic mice were harvested and separately injected into the nerve conduit to repair sciatic nerve defects in wild-type mice. The regenerated nerves were studied 3 and 6 months after surgery. HE staining was used to roughly observe the histological features of regenerated nerves. Immunofluorescence staining was used to evaluate the quality of regenerated axons. Transmission electron microscopy was conducted to observe the microstructure and assess the mature level of regenerated nerves.
Hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunofluorescence staining showed that, in A-SC group, regenerated nerves exhibited better organized structures and the number of regenerated nerve fibers was significantly higher than that in ADSC group but a bit lower than that in SN-SC group. In addition, transmission electron microscopy revealed that microstructure of the regenerated nerves (myelin sheath thickness and diameter of myelinated nerve fibers) in A-SC group were more mature and perfect than that in ADSC group, but a little inferior than that in SN-SC group.
A-SCs have a clear therapeutic ability in axonal damage, which provide huge potential in clinical practice.
雪旺细胞（SC）是周围神经修复中最重要的种子细胞。我们之前的研究成功地从皮下脂肪组织的微小神经纤维中培养出了一种新的雪旺细胞来源（A-SC），并证明了它们形成髓鞘的能力。然而，关于A-SC移植后再生神经的质量和微观结构知之甚少。
为了进一步探究A-SC对神经再生的疗效，收集来自CAG-EGFP转基因小鼠的A-SC、坐骨神经源性雪旺细胞（SN-SC）和脂肪源性干细胞（ADSC），并分别注入神经导管以修复野生型小鼠的坐骨神经缺损。在术后3个月和6个月对再生神经进行研究。采用苏木精-伊红染色大致观察再生神经的组织学特征。采用免疫荧光染色评估再生轴突的质量。进行透射电子显微镜观察微观结构并评估再生神经的成熟水平。
苏木精-伊红染色和免疫荧光染色显示，在A-SC组中，再生神经表现出组织结构更好，再生神经纤维数量明显高于ADSC组，但略低于SN-SC组。此外，透射电子显微镜显示，A-SC组再生神经的微观结构（髓鞘厚度和有髓神经纤维直径）比ADSC组更成熟和完善，但略逊于SN-SC组。
A-SC在轴突损伤方面具有明确的治疗能力，在临床实践中具有巨大潜力。
