Figure 4.

Histological studies of the sciatic nerve. (a) Semi-thin transverse sections, size-frequency distributions for myelinated axons, and number of large myelinated axons (>5 µm) observed in a 0.0604 mm² area of the sciatic nerve at 3 weeks after the first gene transfer in the CCI (chronic constriction injury), CCI+CV (control-vector gene-transfer after CCI), CCI+HGF (HGF gene-transfer after chronic constriction injury (CCI)), and non-CCI groups. Degeneration of wallerian-type fibers (arrowheads) was sometimes observed in the CCI and CCI+CV groups. Bar = 20 µm; *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01 (n = 6 for each group). (b) Representative electron microscopic sections, size-frequency distributions, and mean diameter of unmyelinated axons in the sciatic nerve at 3 weeks after the first gene transfer. Bar = 2 µm; **P < 0.01 (n = 6 for each group).