Comparative Behavioral Assessment of Lewis and Nude Rats after Peripheral Nerve Injury.

Comparative Behavioral Assessment of Lewis and Nude Rats after Peripheral Nerve Injury. Comp Med. 2020 May 08;: Authors: Alawadhi E, Chu TH, Midha R Abstract Cell therapy has shown potential in the field of peripheral nerve repair, and research using rodents is a critical and essentialstep toward clinical development of this approach. Traditionally, most experimental peripheral nerve injuries are conductedin inbred Lewis or outbred Sprague-Dawley strains. However, transplantation of xenogeneic cells such as human-derivedcells typically triggers rejection in these animals. An alternative approach is to use immunodeficient animals, such as athymic nude rats. The lack of functional T cells in these animals renders them more accommodating to foreign cells from a different host. Currently, no literature exists regarding sensorimotor behavioral assessment of nude rats after peripheral nerve injury. To this end, we compared the functional recovery during a 6-wk period of behavioral testing of Lewis and nude rats after unilateral sciatic nerve crushing injury. Three sensorimotor behavioral assessments were performed weekly: a ladder rungwalking task to assess slip ratio and cross duration, von Frey nociception testing to determine the paw withdrawal threshold thus monitoring the regaining of sensory function, and sciatic functional index evaluation to monitor the recovery of integrated motor function. Both strains demonstrated significant se...
Source: Comparative Medicine - Category: Zoology Authors: Tags: Comp Med Source Type: research