title: Schwann cell but not olfactory ensheathing glia transplants improve hindlimb locomotor performance in the moderately contused adult rat thoracic spinal cord.
abstract: Cultured adult rat Schwann cells (SCs) or olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG), or both, were transplanted in the adult Fischer rat thoracic (T9) spinal cord 1 week after a moderate contusion (10 gm, 12.5 mm, NYU impactor). Rats received either a total of 2 x 10(6) cells suspended in culture medium or culture medium only (controls). At 12 weeks after injury, all grafted animals exhibited diminished cavitation. Although in medium-injected rats 33% of spinal tissue within a 5-mm-long segment of cord centered at the injury site was spared, significantly more tissue was spared in SC (51%), OEG (43%), and SC/OEG (44%) grafted animals. All three types of glial grafts were filled with axons, primarily of spinal origin. SC grafts contained more myelinated axons than SC/OEG and OEG grafts. Both types of SC-containing grafts expressed more intense staining for glial fibrillary acidic protein and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan compared with OEG-only grafts. Retrograde tracing demonstrated that the number of propriospinal and brainstem axons reaching 5-6 mm beyond the grafted area was significantly higher with SC and SC/OEG grafts but not with OEG-only grafts compared with controls. Corticospinal fibers terminated closer to the lesion epicenter in all grafted animals than in controls. With SC-only grafts, a modest but statistically significant improvement in hindlimb locomotor performance was detected at 8-11 weeks after injury. Thus, in addition to this functional improvement, our results show that an SC graft is more effective in promoting axonal sparing/regeneration than an SC/OEG or OEG graft in the moderately contused adult rat thoracic spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: The Chambers Family Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takami
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oudega
authors.forename: Margaret L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.forename: Patrick M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kleitman
authors.forename: Mary Bartlett
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bunge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002452:Cell Count; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000503:physiopathology; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012583:Schwann Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000637:transplantation*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013898:Thoracic Injuries; D016896:Treatment Outcome