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Intramuscular Nanofat Injection Prevents Muscle Atrophy and Enhances Contraction Strength After Sciatic Nerve Injury in a Rodent Model
David Turer, MD, MS; Benjamin K. Schilling, MS; Chiaki Komatsu, MD; Jocelyn Baker; Adam R. Cottrill, BS; George E. Panagis; Kacey G. Marra, PhD
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
2020-01-28
Presenter: David Turer
Affidavit:
The resident was involved in all aspects of this project.
Director Name: Vu Nguyen
Author Category: Resident Plastic Surgery
Presentation Category: Basic Science Research
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Background: Peripheral nerve injuries (PNI) are often devastating in regards to function and quality of life. Even after reconstruction, many patients have inadequate return of function because of atrophy of the innervated muscles before the nerves can regenerate. Nanofat is a rich source of adipose derived stem cells and has been proven useful for a variety of aesthetic and reconstructive indications. Previous work has shown that intramuscular injection of cultured adipose derived stem cells may prevent muscle atrophy after peripheral nerve injury. In this study, we investigated whether intramuscular injection of nanofat prevents muscle atrophy and improves recovery after peripheral nerve injury.
Methods: Six rats were sacked and subcutaneous adipose tissue was harvested and processed into nanofat. In 12 rats a unilateral sciatic nerve injury was created and immediately repaired. Half of these rats then had nanofat injected into the gastrocnemius distal to the PNI. The contralateral side of each rat was left uninjured to serve as a control. At 9 and 12 weeks, gastrocnemius contraction force was measured and compared.
Results: There were 6 nanofat, 6 contralateral, and 11 control limbs studied. Uninjured limbs demonstrated an average tetanic contraction force of 14.723 ± 0.101 N/kg. Injured limbs with and without nanofat injections averaged 13.734 ± 0.141 N/kg and 6.849 ± 0.139 N/kg, respectively. Contraction force in the nanofat limbs was significantly higher than the noninjected limbs (p<0.001 for all comparisons).
Conclusion: Nanofat injection improves muscle recovery after peripheral nerve injury and repair, approaching values of the uninjured control limb.
