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MicroRNA-338 and microRNA-21 co-transfection for the treatment of rat sciatic nerve injury

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Abstract

The objective of this study is to find if co-transfecting microRNA-338 and microRNA-21 into the neurons in the spinal cord can promote functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury in rats. Animals were divided into three groups: 20 animals in the GFP control vector group (group A), 20 animals in the GFP experimental vector group (group B) and ten animals in the normal control group. Right sciatic nerves of animals in groups A and B were transected and were bridged with collagen nerve conduits with 10 mm distance between the stumps. 3 µl GFP control vector or 3 µl lentiviral vectors encoding the sequence of microRNA-338 and microRNA-21 were injected in the conduit. 8 weeks after the surgery, the treatment effect was evaluated by functional analysis, electrophysiological analysis, immunohistochemical analysis as well as transmitting electronic microscope observations in all the rats. Animals treated with microRNA-338 and microRNA-21 showed significantly better recovery than GFP control group animals by means of functional analysis (Sciatic nerve index −47.7 ± 2.5 vs −59.4 ± 3.7), electrophysiological analysis (Conduction velocity 20.5 ± 2.8 vs 10.5 ± 1.4 m/s), ratio of wet weight of the gastrocnemius muscles (0.83 ± 0.03 vs 0.55 ± 0.06), axon diameter (5.0 ± 1.8 µm vs 4.0 ± 2.2), myelin sheath thickness (1.4 ± 0.43 vs 0.80 ± 0.31 µm) and G-ratio (0.80 ± 0.06 vs 0.75 ± 0.04). Lentiviral vectors encoding microRNA 338 and 21 might be explored in the future as potential therapeutic intervention to promote nerve regeneration.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (“863” Program, No. 2012AA020905), the NSFC/RGC-Joint Research Scheme (81161160570), and the Natural Science Foundation of China (NO: 81360194).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Institute of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities, No 92, Huolinhe Rd, Tongliao, 028000, Inner Mongolia, China

      Jianyong Wang & Ming Zhang

    2. Institute of Tissue Engineering, China Medical University, No. 77 Puhe Road, Shenyang North New Area, Shenyang, 110122, Liaoning, China

      Jianyong Wang, Ming Zhang, Yujun Wei & Qiang Ao

    3. Medical Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

      Aikeremujiang Muheremu, Kai Gong, Chuyi Huang & Yuchen Ji

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    1. Jianyong Wang
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    Correspondence to Qiang Ao.

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    We declare no conflict of interest regarding this manuscript.

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    The study was approved by the ethical committee of China Medical University. The procedures were accordance with the ethical standards of Helsinki Declaration.

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    J. Wang and A. Muheremu have contributed equally to this work.

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    Wang, J., Muheremu, A., Zhang, M. et al. MicroRNA-338 and microRNA-21 co-transfection for the treatment of rat sciatic nerve injury. Neurol Sci 37, 883–890 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-016-2500-6

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-016-2500-6

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