{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T01:50:28Z","timestamp":1793238628463,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,18]],"date-time":"2022-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1645142400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The repair of severe nerve injuries requires an autograft or conduit to bridge the gap and avoid axon dispersion. Several conduits are used routinely, but their effectiveness is comparable to that of an autograft only for short gaps. Understanding nerve regeneration within short conduits could help improve their efficacy for longer gaps. Since Schwann cells are known to migrate on endothelial cells to colonize the \u201cnerve bridge\u201d, the new tissue spontaneously forming to connect the injured nerve stumps, here we aimed to investigate whether this migratory mechanism drives Schwann cells to also proceed within the nerve conduits used to repair large nerve gaps. Injured median nerves of adult female rats were repaired with 10 mm chitosan conduits and the regenerated nerves within conduits were analyzed at different time points using confocal imaging of sequential thick sections. Our data showed that the endothelial cells formed a dense capillary network used by Schwann cells to migrate from the two nerve stumps into the conduit. We concluded that angiogenesis played a key role in the nerve conduits, not only by supporting cell survival but also by providing a pathway for the migration of newly formed Schwann cells.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms23042254","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,21]],"date-time":"2022-02-21T08:18:05Z","timestamp":1645431485000},"page":"2254","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":34,"title":["Blood Vessels: The Pathway Used by Schwann Cells to Colonize Nerve Conduits"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9446-5914","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Benedetta Elena","family":"Fornasari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences (DSCB), University of Torino, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8411-5419","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federica","family":"Zen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences (DSCB), University of Torino, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3649-7517","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"Nato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (DBIOS), University of Torino, 10123 Torino, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3562-7175","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Fogli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (DBIOS), University of Torino, 10123 Torino, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Federico","family":"Luzzati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology (DBIOS), University of Torino, 10123 Torino, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giulia","family":"Ronchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences (DSCB), University of Torino, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8907-473X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefania","family":"Raimondo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences (DSCB), University of Torino, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8380-5925","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanna","family":"Gambarotta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences (DSCB), University of Torino, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"},{"name":"Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Torino, 10043 Orbassano, TO, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"780","DOI":"10.1002\/jnr.24538","article-title":"Peripheral nerve injury and myelination: Potential therapeutic strategies","volume":"98","author":"Modrak","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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