Fig. 3: LBP accelerates function recovery after severe peripheral nerve injury and promotes robust CNS axon regeneration.

a Schematic diagram illustrating the experimental timeline for severe peripheral nerve injury and LBP (100 mg/kg) treatment paradigm. Sciatic nerve was crushed 4 times at 9-day intervals to prevent successful muscle re-innervation for motor function recovery. b Pinprick sensitivity was fully recovered at 31 days in LBP-treated mice and 43 days in vehicle control mice. c LBP-treated mice were able to regain 75% of the toe spreading reflex, whereas control mice only recovered 22% of toe spreading reflex at 2 months post-injury. d Sciatic function index of control mice remained significantly lower than that of LBP-treated mice from day 27 post-injury onwards. e, f Functional neuromuscular junction re-innervation was quantified by weekly electromyography recordings of proximal (gastrocnemius) and distal (interosseous) muscles. A significant improvement in the average compound muscle action potential amplitude in LBP-treated mice was observed, reaching up to 68.8% of recovery in the most distal interosseous muscle compared with their own baseline values. Mean ± SEM (n = 13 per group); *P < 0.05; two-way ANOVA, followed by post hoc Bonferroni test in (b–f).