FIG. 5.

Video frames showing the functional measurements performed on mice following implantation of the conduit and metrics of functional recovery promoted by E10-0.5(1K) and NP-PE conduits in vivo. Frames A and C represent pre-injury measurements and frames B and D represent post-injury (inj) measurements. The white lines drawn in the video frames show the foot base angle (FBA) (A, B), and the limb lengths used for calculation of the protraction limb ratio (PLR) (C, D) (A) FBA of mice pre-injury averages 50–70°. (B) FBA of mice 1 week post-injury averages 90–110°. Functional recovery is denoted by a reduction in this degree angle. (C) The pencil grip test measures the PLR on a mouse pre-injury, where both limbs are similarly extended, giving a ratio of 1. (D) PLR on a mouse 1 week post-injury shows the disparity in limb protraction due to injury, resulting in a PLR>1. (E) FBA for a 15-week period following surgical insertion of nonporous PE conduits (NP-PE), porous E10-0.5(1K) conduits [P-E10-0.5(1K)], and nonporous E10-0.5(1K) conduits [NP-E10-0.5(1K)] pre-filled with saline. (F) Recovery index for FBA at week 15. Each dot represents one animal. (G) PLR for all conditions. (H) Recovery Index for PLR at week 15. (*p<0.001, one-way analysis of variance with Tukey's post hoc test). Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea