Transplantation of cultured embryonic spinal cord grafts into the hemisected spinal cord of adult rabbits.
Spinal cord fragments from 20-day-old rabbit embryos cultivated for 1 week were transplanted into the hemisected and intact spinal cord of adult rabbits. The morphological changes at the site of intervention were investigated by light and electron microscopy 3, 12, and 29 weeks following implantation. In 80% of the animals the procedure was successful. The implants grew in volume, the cells matured, and many new neural processes with myelinization and synapse formation appeared. The histological findings indicate the survival, maturation, and integration of transplanted cultured embryonic spinal cord tissue in the lesioned adult spinal cord.
National Institute of Neurosurgery, Budapest, Hungary.
G T
GT
Szeifert
T
T
Ladocsi
A
A
Zágon
L
L
Fedina
E
E
Pásztor
D000818:Animals; D046508:Culture Techniques; D006085:Graft Survival; D011817:Rabbits; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000196:embryology / Q000637:transplantation*