Arash Abdolmaleki - Department of Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Technologies, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Namin, Iran

Acellular nerve graft is an alternative to autograft for the repair of short gaps associated with peripheral nerve injury. It provides a suitable threedimensional structure that supports and guides axonal regeneration. However, outcomes associated with the use of acellular nerve grafting are often inferior to those achieved with autografts, particularly over long lesion gaps. Therefore, this experimental study wasconducted to evaluate the effects of nimodipine on the efficacy of acellular nerve allografts seeded with bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to bridge a 15-mm sciatic nerve gap. Materials and Methods: Sixty rats were randomly allocated into six groups (n = 10 per group), including the healthy control group, sham surgery group, autograft group, acellular nerve scaffold (ANS) group, ANS + BMSCs group and ANS + BMSCs + 10mg/kg nimodipine group. The experimental groups was treated daily with nimodipine at the dose of 10 mg/kg for two weeks. After implantation, motor function was assessed and electrophysiological, histomorphometry, and molecular tests were performed. Results: Animals treated with nimodipine immediately after implantation showed significantly better regeneration and motor function outcome compared with ANS group, and ANS + BMSCs group. No significant difference was observed between the nimodipine treatment groupand the autograft group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that nimodipine treatment resulted in improved regenerative properties of cell-seeded nerve allografts, likely via increasing the viability and retention of transplanted BMSCs