Tiam Mana Saffari

119 THE LOCAL MICROENVIRONMENT OF NERVE ALLOGRAFTS AFTER ANGIOGENESIS 6 Extracellular matrix gene expression The activity of fibroblastic cell types in nerve regenerative surgery was investigated by examining the expression of collagenous and non-collagenous extracellular matrix proteins (Figure 4). SIEF nerves measured a significantly higher expression values for Col1a1 (139.850±31.192) and Col3a1 (31.257±7.284) compared to allograft nerves (36.602±8.43 for Col1a1 and 4.395±1.856 for Col3a1, P<0.01), and superiority to autograft nerves for Col3a1 (0.749±0.235, P<0.01), but not for Col1a1 (69.211±5.028). Fibulin (Fbln1) expression was lower in SIEF nerves (0.155±0.022) compared allograft (0.401±0.093, P<0.05) and autograft (0.712±0.032, P<0.001). Laminin β2 (Lamb2) expression was very low in all samples and did not significantly differ between graft groups (0.138±0.009 for autograft, 0.092±0.029 for allograft and 0.094±0.011 for SIEF) (Figure 4). The active expression of different collagen proteins is consistent with the presence of fibroblastic cell types that generate fibrous repair tissues near nerve grafts. Figure 4. Gene expression profiles of extracellular markers including Col1a1, Col3a1, Fbln1 and Lamb2. Gene expression profiles from autograft, allograft and allograft wrapped around with a superficial inferior epigastric artery fascial (SIEF) flap. Gene expression was normalized to Actb. *Indicates significance at P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.