title: Transplantation of neurotrophin-3-expressing bone mesenchymal stem cells improves recovery in a rat model of spinal cord injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of transplanting neutrophin-3 (NT-3)-expressing bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty-eight adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three groups: the control, BMSC, and NT-3-BMSC groups. BMSCs were infected with NT-3-DsRed or DsRed lentivirus and injected into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via lumbar puncture (LP) 7 days after SCI in the NT-3-BMSC and BMSC groups, respectively. The hind-limb motor function of all rats was recorded using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 after transplantation. Haematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, immunofluorescence labelling, and western blotting were performed at the final time point.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expressions of NT-3, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins increased significantly in the NT-3-BMSC group, and hind-limb locomotor functions improved significantly in the NT-3-BMSC group compared with the other two groups. The cystic cavity area was smallest in the NT-3-BMSC group. In the NT-3-BMSC group, neurofilament 200 (NF200) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression levels around the lesions were significantly increased and decreased, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings demonstrate that transplantation of NT-3 gene-modified BMSCs via LP can strengthen the therapeutic benefits of BMSC transplantation. We observed that these modified cells increased locomotor function recovery, promoted nerve regeneration, and improved the injured spinal cord microenvironment, suggesting that it could be a promising treatment for SCI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People's Republic of China, 4617784@qq.com.
authors.forename: Ling-Jie
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rui-Ping
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian-Ding
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000503:physiopathology; D008124:Locomotion; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D020933:Neurotrophin 3 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D014162:Transfection; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D020933:Neurotrophin 3; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A