Prolonged target deprivation reduces the capacity of injured motoneurons to regenerate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether or not it is the frustrated growth state (no axon growth) that reduces regenerative capacity or the inability of axotomized motoneurons to remake muscle connections (axon growth-no muscle contact) that accounts for poor regenerative capacity of chronically axotomized motoneurons.

METHODS: We chronically axotomized rat femoral motoneurons for 2 months by cutting the nerve and either capping the proximal nerve to prevent axon regeneration (Group 1, no axon growth for 2 mo) or encouraging axon regeneration but not target reinnervation by suture to the distal stump of cut saphenous nerve (Group 2, axon growth with no muscle contact). In the control fresh axotomy group (axon growth with muscle contact), femoral nerve stumps were resutured immediately. Two months later, the femoral nerve was recut and sutured immediately to encourage regeneration in a freshly cut saphenous nerve stump for 6 weeks. Regenerating axons in the saphenous nerve were back-labeled with fluorogold for enumeration of the femoral motoneurons that regenerated their axons into the distal nerve stump.

RESULTS: We found that significantly fewer chronically axotomized motoneurons regenerated their axons than freshly axotomized motoneurons that regenerated their axons to reform nerve-muscle connections in the same length of time. The number of motoneurons that regenerated their axons was reduced in both the conditions of no axon growth and axon growth with no muscle contact; thus chronic axotomy for a 2-month period reduced regenerative success irrespective of whether the motoneurons were prevented from regenerating or encouraged to regenerate their axons in that same period of time.

CONCLUSION: Axonal regeneration does not protect motoneurons from the negative effects of prolonged axotomy on regenerative capacity. It is the period of chronic axotomy, in which motoneurons remain without target nerve-muscle connection, and not simply a state of frustrated growth that accounts for the reduced regenerative capacity of those neurons.