Tests BPC 157 for healing transected rat sciatic nerve using two models: standard nerve anastomosis and nerve tubing (7 mm gap, no anastomosis). BPC 157 given IP, intragastrically, locally at anastomosis, or into the tubing significantly improved nerve regeneration at 1–2 months post-injury: increased fiber density, myelination, fiber diameter, myelin sheet thickness, better fascicle organization, improved EMG motor action potentials, and superior sciatic functional index scores. Autotomy (pain behavior) was absent in treated rats. Demonstrates potent peripheral nerve regeneration enhancement.
Abstract
We focused on the healing of rat transected sciatic nerve and improvement made by stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (10 microg, 10ng/kg) applied shortly after injury (i) intraperitoneally/intragastrically/locally, at the site of anastomosis, or after (ii) non-anastomozed nerve tubing (7 mm nerve segment resected) directly into the tube. Improvement was shown clinically (autotomy), microscopically/morphometrically and functionally (EMG, one or two months post-injury, walking recovery (sciatic functional index (SFI)) at weekly intervals). BPC 157-rats exhibited faster axonal regeneration: histomorphometrically (improved presentation of neural fascicles, homogeneous regeneration pattern, increased density and size of regenerative fibers, existence of epineural and perineural regeneration, uniform target orientation of regenerative fibers, and higher proportion of neural vs. connective tissue, all fascicles in each nerve showed increased diameter of myelinated fibers, thickness of myelin sheet, number of myelinated fibers per area and myelinated fibers as a percentage of the nerve transected area and the increased blood vessels presentation), electrophysiologically (increased motor action potentials), functionally (improved SFI), the autotomy absent. Thus, BPC 157 markedly improved rat sciatic nerve healing.