Effects of sciatic nerve transplants after fimbria-fornix lesion: examination of the role of nerve growth factor.

At two weeks post-transplantation, sciatic nerves inserted into the lesioned septo-hippocampal pathway contain NGF levels more than twice that of normal nerves. These transplanted nerves also contain regenerating cholinergic axons. Moreover, transplanted animals exhibit septal NGF levels that are significantly greater than in animals with lesions only. These results suggest a role for NGF in the ingrowth of axons into the transplants and in the increase in ChAT(+) septal neurons previously observed at this post-transplant time.