Grants Funded

Abstract
Peripheral nerve injuries are common and associated with devastating morbidity. Functional recovery following peripheral nerve injury is impacted by changes to both the nerve pathway and end-organ target. Recovery is also affected by the reconstructive techniques required to achieve repair. As direct nerve repair without a graft is rarely possible, many techniques have been used to “bridge the gap” and offer a pathway to facilitate axonal regeneration across the gap. These grafts include autografts and graft alternatives, where autografts yield the best outcomes. Yet, while the autograft is considered the “gold standard” for gap reconstruction, it is associated with far from optimal functional outcomes and is more likely a “bronze standard.” Determining why autografts yield poor results has received little attention. Our preliminary data demonstrate SenSCs accumulate in grafts and directly limit axonal regenerative capacity. We propose evaluating autografts for SenSCs and directly assessing their causal role in reduced axonal regeneration across autografts. Determining the relative impact of SenSCs on nerve autografts will be a crucial step to understanding why nerve autografts yield only adequate clinical outcomes.

Peripheral nerve injury requiring surgical repair is a common procedure in the United States, and the frequency of these repairs has increased with ongoing military operations. Many instances of nerve injury require nerve graft surgical reconstruction to allow regeneration and restore function. In this research project, we determine the impact of a novel type of cell that accumulates in nerve grafts on axonal regeneration across nerve grafts.

Biography
Matthew D. Wood, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. He completed his graduate studies at Washington University and then completed his post-doctoral fellowship in the labs of Gregory Borschel, MD and Tessa Gordon, PhD in the areas of neural tissue engineering and peripheral nerve injury and reconstruction. Wood’s broad research interest is nerve injury and regeneration, collaborating closely with surgeons for their insights on the clinical problems encountered. This broad interest includes understanding fundamental aspects and limitations in nerve reconstruction, the development of therapeutics to augment surgeons, and generation of diagnostics to identify peripheral nerve injuries.