Animal models in peripheral nerve transection studies: a systematic review on study design and outcomes assessment

Abstract

Aim: Peripheral nerve injury regeneration studies using animal models are crucial to different pre-clinical therapeutic approaches efficacy evaluation whatever the surgical technique explored. Materials & methods: A 944 articles systematic review on ’peripheral nerve injury in animal models’ over the last 9 years was carried out. Results: It was found that 91% used rodents, and only 9% employed large animals. Different nerves are studied, with generated gaps (10,78 mm) and methods applied for regeneration evaluation uniformed. Sciatic nerve was the most used (88%), followed by median and facial nerves (2.6%), significantly different. Conclusion: There has not been a significant scale-up of the in vivo testing to large animal models (anatomically/physiologically closer to humans), allowing an improvement in translational medicine for clinical cases.

Keywords: :

• animal models
• peripheral nerve injury
• peripheral nerve regeneration
• translational medicine

Acknowledgments

The author B Lopes and AC Sousa acknowledges Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) and RD Alvites acknowledges the Centro de Estudos de Ciência Animal (CECA), Instituto de Ciências, Tecnologias e Agroambiente (ICETA), Porto University (UP), FCT, and the funding and availability of all technical, structural, and human resources necessary for the development of this work.

Financial disclosure

The work was supported through the project UIDB/00211/2020 funded by FCT/MCTES through national funds, through the projects 2022.04501.PTDC (Olfabionerve - Olfactory Mucosa Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Biomaterials Promoting Peripheral Nerve Regeneration) and PTDC/EMD-EMD/2229/2020 (PRECOGFIL - Filamentos dentados pre-tensionados para correção transvaginal do prolapso do compartimento anterior e posterior), POCI-01-0247-FEDER-047032 (H2Cure – Desenvolvimento de formulações de géis e pensos de Mel, Goma Gelana e Ácido Hialurónico para tratamento de feridas), and through the PhD scholarship 2021.05265.BD and SFRH/BD/146689/2019 (B Lopes and AC Sousa, respectively). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Competing interests disclosure

The authors have no competing interests or relevant affiliations with any organization or entity with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options and expert testimony.

Writing disclosure

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.