Denervation of Mouse Lower Hind Limb by Sciatic and Femoral Nerve Transection

The requirement and influence of the peripheral nervous system on tissue replacement in mammalian appendages remain largely undefined. Reports from salamander models of appendage regeneration (Singer, 1952; Singer, 1947; Kumar et al., 2007), and of human clinical skin and nail problems associated with spinal cord injury patients (Stover et al., 1994) suggest that appendage regeneration may have an important nerve component. To explore this question, we have generated hind limb tissues devoid of nerve supply. This protocol, combined with multi-color ‘Rainbow’ reporter mouse lines permits single cell clonal analysis and genetic lineage tracing studies in the absence of nerve supply (Rinkevich et al., 2014), exposing nerve requirements on cellular replacement and differentiation during tissue growth, maintenance, and regeneration.