Whole Mount Immunostaining on Mouse Sciatic Nerves to Visualize Events of Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Abstract

Injury to the peripheral nervous system triggers a series of well-defined events within both neurons and the Schwann cells to allow efficient axonal regeneration, remyelination, and functional repair. The study of these events has previously been done using sections of nerve material to analyze axonal regrowth, cell migration, and immune cell infiltration following injury. This approach, however, has the obvious disadvantage that it is not possible to follow, for instance, the path of regenerating axons in three dimensions within the nerve trunk or the nerve bridge. In order to provide a fuller picture of such events, we have developed a whole mount staining procedure to visualize blood vessel regeneration, Schwann cell migration, axonal regrowth, and remyelination in models of nerve injury.