Survival and regeneration of the adult rat vagus nerve in culture.

Here I report that the vagus nerve from the adult rat survives in culture for several days. The cultured preparation retains its ability to propagate action potentials and transport proteins within its sensory axons. Regeneration could be induced by a crush lesion and nerve fibers regenerated at a rate of 1.4 mm/day. The production of proteins, later subjected to retrograde axonal transport, and outgrowth of neurites could be prevented by inhibition of protein synthesis at the site of the crush lesion.