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Are BMPs Involved in Normal Nerve and Following Transection?: A Pilot Study

  • Symposium: Tribute to Dr. Marshall Urist: Musculoskeletal Growth Factors
  • Published:
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

Abstract

Bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) may have neurotrophic functions but there is limited evidence of these functions in the peripheral nervous system. We therefore investigated the expression of BMPs and BMP receptors (BMPRs) in normal and injured peripheral nerves. In 10 of 15 Sprague-Dawley rats, a 3-mm segment of sciatic nerve was resected at the trifurcation in the thigh. One day (n = 5) and 7 days (n = 5) after transection, proximal and distal stumps were removed and immunohistochemically analyzed for BMP-2, -7, BMPR-1A, -1B, and -2. The other five animals served as normal controls. In normal nerves, BMP-2 expression was localized at Ranvier’s node, and BMP-7 and BMPR-1B were expressed in several axon-Schwann cell units, whereas other receptors were not expressed. After nerve transection, BMP-7 expression was upregulated at both proximal and distal stumps along with Schwann cell columns during Wallerian degeneration. BMPRs were also upregulated compared with the normal nerve. The upregulation in BMP expression after nerve transection suggests that BMPs may play a role in the healing response of the peripheral nerve.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-174 Edobashi, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan

    Masaya Tsujii MD, PhD, Koji Akeda MD, PhD, Takahiro Iino MS & Atsumasa Uchida MD, PhD

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  1. Masaya Tsujii MD, PhD
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  2. Koji Akeda MD, PhD
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  3. Takahiro Iino MS
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  4. Atsumasa Uchida MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Koji Akeda MD, PhD.

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Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Each author certifies that his or her institution has approved the animal protocol for this investigation and that all investigations were conducted in conformity with ethical principles of research.

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Tsujii, M., Akeda, K., Iino, T. et al. Are BMPs Involved in Normal Nerve and Following Transection?: A Pilot Study. Clin Orthop Relat Res 467, 3183–3189 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-1009-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-009-1009-1

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