Salvianolic acid B promotes survival of transplanted mesenchymal stem cells in spinal cord-injured rats.
OBJECTIVE
Stem cells hold great promise for brain and spinal cord injuries (SCI), but cell survival following transplantation to adult central nervous system has been poor. Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) has been shown to improve functional recovery in brain-injured rats. The present study was designed to determine whether Sal B could improve transplanted mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) survival in SCI rats.


METHODS
SCI rats were treated with Sal B. The Basso-Beatie-Bresnahan (BBB) scale was used to test the functional recovery. Sal B was used to protect MSC from being damaged by TNF-alpha in vitro. Bromodeoxyuridine-labeled MSC were transplanted into SCI rats with Sal B intraperitoneal injection, simultaneously. MSC were examined, and the functional recovery of the SCI rats was tested.


RESULTS
Sal B treatment significantly reduced the lesion area from 0.26+/-0.05 mm2 to 0.15+/-0.03 mm2 (P<0.01) and remarkably raised the BBB scores on d 28, post-injury, from 7.3+/-0.9 to 10.5+/-1.3 (P<0.05), compared with the phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) control group. MSC were protected from the damage of TNF-alpha by Sal B. The number of surviving MSC in the MSC plus Sal B groups were 1143.3+/-195.6 and 764.0+/-81.3 on d 7 and 28, post-transplantation, more than those in the MSC group, which was 569.3+/-72.3 and 237.0+/-61.3, respectively (P<0.05). Rats with MSC transplanted and Sal B injected obtained higher BBB scores than those with MSC transplanted alone (P<0.05) and PBS (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Sal B provides neuroprotection to SCI and promotes the survival of MSC in vitro and after cell transplantation to the injured spinal cord in vivo.
Bi
Xiao-bin
XB
Department of Pathophysiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Deng
Yu-bin
YB
Gan
Dan-hui
DH
Wang
Ya-zhu
YZ
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology; D053630:Depsides
D000975:Antioxidants; D001572:Benzofurans; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C076944:salvianolic acid B; D053630:Depsides