Abstract:Objective To investigate the effect of Schwann cells on the growth characteristics of autogenous skull tissue in neonatal SD rats. Methods The neonatal Schwann cells were cultured and purified in vitro. The skull tissues were divided into control group and observation group. The skull tissue of the control group was cultured alone. The skull tissue of the observation group was co-cultured with Schwann cells. In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd weeks of culture, the levels of osteocalcin and osteopontin in the skull tissue were measured by immunohistochemistry, and the bone alkaline phosphatase activity was measured by ELISA. Results Schwann cells were successfully cultured in vitro with the purity over 89%. There were differences in the osteocalcin levels at different time points (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in the osteocalcin levels between the observation group and the control group (P < 0.05), the levels of osteocalcin in the observation group were higher than those in the control group. There was significant difference in the change trends of osteocalcin levels between the observation group and the control group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the osteopontin levels at different time points (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences in the osteopontin levels between the observation group and the control group (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the change trends of osteopontin levels between the observation group and the control group (P > 0.05). The activity of bone alkaline phosphatase was different at different time points (P < 0.05). There was significant difference in the bone alkaline phosphatase activity between the observation group and the control group (P < 0.05), the activity of bone alkaline phosphatase in the observation group was higher than that in the control group. There was significant difference in the change trends of bone alkaline phosphatase activity between the observation group and the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions Schwann cells can increase osteocalcin level and bone alkaline phosphatase activity of skull tissue, and promote the growth of skull tissue.