Analysis of biological functional networks during sciatic nerve repair and regeneration.

Peripheral nerve injury is a common disease with a low recovery rate. A better understanding of the molecular changes underlying peripheral nerve injury and regeneration may contribute to the development of novel therapies for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury. In the current study, we analyzed differentially expressed genes in rat sciatic nerve stumps at 1, 4, 7, and 14 days post nerve crush and built biological functional networks at each time point. Our outcomes suggested that "Neurological Disease" involved networks were significant at 1 day post nerve crush, "Cellular Assembly and Organization" involved networks were important at 4 and 7 days post nerve crush, while "Tissue Morphology" involved networks were important at 14 days post nerve crush. We also investigated the temporal expression patterns as well as central genes of these critical networks. Taken together, our study revealed genetic networks and gene-gene interactions in the injured nerve stumps and thus might enhance our understanding of peripheral nerve regeneration.