Growth of injured rabbit optic axons within their degenerating optic nerve

Journal Article · Wed Aug 15 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Journal of Comparative Neurology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.902980304· OSTI ID:6314861

Lavie, V; Murray, M; Solomon, A; Ben-Bassat, S; Belkin, M; Rumelt, S; Schwartz, M ^[1]

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1. Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot (Israel)

Spontaneous growth of axons after injury is extremely limited in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS). It is now clear, however, that injured CNS axons can be induced to elongate when provided with a suitable environment. Thus injured CNS axons can elongate, but they do not do so unless their environment is altered. We now show apparent regenerative growth of injured optic axons. This growth is achieved in the adult rabbit optic nerve by the use of a combined treatment consisting of: (1) supplying soluble substances originating from growing axons to be injured rabbit optic nerves, and (2) application of low energy He-Ne laser irradiation, which appears to delay degenerative changes in the injured axons. Two to 8 weeks after this treatment, unmyelinated and thinly myelinated axons are found at the lesion site and distal to it. Morphological and immunocytochemical evidence indicate that these thinly myelinated and unmyelinated axons are growing in close association with glial cells. Only these axons are identified as being growing axons. These newly growing axons transverse the site of injury and extend into the distal stump of the nerve, which contains degenerating axons. Axons of this type could be detected distal to the lesion only in nerves subjected to the combined treatment. No unmyelinated or thinly myelinated axons in association with glial cells were seen at 6 or 8 weeks postoperatively in nerves that were not treated, or in nerves in which the two stumps were completely disconnected. Two millimeters distal to the site of injury, the growing axons are confined to a compartment comprising 5%-30% of the cross section of the nerve. A temporal analysis indicates that axons have grown as far as 6 mm distal to the site of injury, by 8 weeks postoperatively.

• OSTI ID: 6314861
• Journal Information: Journal of Comparative Neurology; (USA), Vol. 298:3; ISSN 0021-9967
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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