Sciatic Nerve Cut and Repair Using Fibrin Glue in Adult Mice

Abstract

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is an excellent model for studying neural responses to injury and elucidating the mechanisms that can facilitate axon regeneration. As such, several animal models have been employed to study regenerative mechanisms after PNI, including Aplysia, zebrafish, rabbits, cats and rodents. This protocol describes how to perform a sciatic nerve injury and repair in mice, one of the most frequently used models to study mechanisms that facilitate recovery after PNI, and that takes advantage of the availability of many genetic models. In this protocol, we describe a method for using fibrin glue to secure the proximal and distal stumps of an injured nerve in close alignment. This method facilitates the alignment of nerve stumps, which aids in regeneration of both sensory and motor axons and allows successful reconnection with peripheral targets.