Regeneration of cutaneous innervation in a human hand allograft

Lancet. 2000 Nov 18;356(9243):1738-9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03211-6.

Abstract

On Sept 23, 1998, a human hand allograft was done in our hospital. We followed up the patients for 24 months to assess the skin structure by immunohistology. Most cutaneous structures (including dermal nerves with their Schwann cells and perineurial fibroblasts) were present immediately after surgery and remained detectable throughout the study; from day 464 onwards, axons became detectable within dermal nerves, and their density increased progressively with time. Merkel cells reappeared in the epidermis 12 months after the operation. The regeneration of cutaneous innervation paralleled the recovery of cutaneous sensitivity.

Publication types

  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, CD34 / analysis
  • Chymases
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Hand Transplantation*
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Intermediate Filament Proteins / analysis
  • Keratin-20
  • Ki-67 Antigen / analysis
  • Nerve Regeneration*
  • S100 Proteins / analysis
  • Serine Endopeptidases / analysis
  • Skin / chemistry
  • Skin / innervation*
  • Time Factors
  • Transglutaminases / analysis
  • Transplantation, Homologous
  • Tryptases
  • von Willebrand Factor / analysis

Substances

  • Antigens, CD34
  • Intermediate Filament Proteins
  • KRT20 protein, human
  • Keratin-20
  • Ki-67 Antigen
  • S100 Proteins
  • von Willebrand Factor
  • Transglutaminases
  • Serine Endopeptidases
  • chymase 2
  • Chymases
  • Tryptases