Role of autologous myoblast transplantation in endplate regeneration and neuromuscular function restoration after direct nerve implantation in rats

Abstract

Objective To observe the effects of autologous myoblast transplantation on endplate regeneration and neuromuscular function restoration following direct nerve implantation （DNI） in rats so as to offer experimental basis for the use of myoblasts in neural regeneration area and further lay founda- tion for the research using myohlasts as transgenic carriers. Methods A total of 20 male SD rats were randomly divided into experimental group and control group, with 10 rats in each group. Models of DNI in rat gastrocnemius were established. The experimental group was injected with primarily cultured autolo- gous myoblasts to the DNI location, while the control group was injected with isometric medium without autologous myoblasts. The effects of myoblasts on the neuromuscular function recovery following DNI were studied by detecting the tibial functional index （FFI）, neuro-electrophysiology and pathohistology. Results The experimental group displayed faster tibial nerve function recovery than the control group （P 〈 0.01 ）. The peak to peak value （PPV） of gastrocnemius neuro-electrophysiology, area under the curve and regenerated endplate number of the experimental group had statistical significances as compared with the control group （P 〈 0.01 ）. Conclusion Myoblast autotransplantation accelerates the recovery of neuromuscular function after rat DNI and increases the number of the regenerated endplates. Key words: Myoblasts ; Transplantation; Neuromuscular function repairation