FK506 (Tacrolimus) is a systemic immunosuppressant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FK506 has been shown to promote peripheral nerve regeneration, however, its precise mechanism of action and its pathways remain unclear. In this study, we established a rat model of sciatic nerve injury and found that FK506 improved the morphology of the injured sciatic nerve, increased the numbers of motor and sensory neurons, reduced inflammatory responses, markedly improved the conduction function of the injured nerve, and promoted motor function recovery. These findings suggest that FK506 promotes peripheral nerve structure recovery and functional regeneration by reducing the intensity of inflammation after neuronal injury and increasing the number of surviving neurons.
[1]Peking Univ Peoples Hosp, Dept Trauma & Orthoped, Beijing, Peoples R China.
[2]Peking Univ Peoples Hosp, Natl Ctr Trauma Med, Beijing, Peoples R China.
[3]Peking Univ, Minist Educ, Key Lab Trauma & Neural Regenerat, Beijing, Peoples R China.
[4]Peking Univ Peoples Hosp, Trauma Med Ctr, Beijing, Peoples R China.
[5]China Japan Friendship Hosp, Dept Orthoped, Beijing, Peoples R China.
(8.0+极速模式)