Sensory axon targeting is increased by NGF gene therapy within the lesioned adult femoral nerve

Peripheral nerves can regenerate after injury, but axons often misroute, leading to incomplete functional recovery. This study investigates whether overexpressing nerve growth factor (NGF) can improve the accuracy of sensory axon reinnervation. The researchers used the femoral nerve in rats as a model. They transected the nerve and then injected a virus encoding NGF near the branch point of the sensory nerve. They found that NGF overexpression increased the accuracy of sensory axons regrowing into the correct nerve branch. This suggests that NGF can act as a guidance molecule to help sensory axons find their way after nerve injury, potentially improving functional outcomes.

• 1
  NGF overexpression significantly increased the accuracy of saphenous branch axon reinnervation to the appropriate nerve branch.
• 2
  The increased accuracy of axon reinnervation was independent of enhancing overall axon regeneration.
• 3
  NGF gene therapy induced preferential reinnervation of CGRP-positive DRG neurons into the saphenous branch.