title: X-irradiation for inhibiting glial scar formation in injured spinal cord.
abstract: X-irradiation has a beneficial effect in treating spinal cord injury. We supposed that X-irradiation could improve the microenvironment at the site of a spinal cord injury and inhibit glial scar formation. Thus, this study was designed to observe the effects of 8 Gy X-irradiation on the injury site at 6 hours and 2, 4, 7, and 14 days post injury, in terms of improvement in the microenvironment and hind limb motor function. Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of macrophage marker ED-1 and the area with glial scar formation were reduced. In addition, the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan score was higher at 7 days post injury relative to the other time points post injury. Results indicated that X-irradiation at a dose of 8 Gy can inhibit glial scar formation and alleviate the inflammatory reaction, thereby repairing spinal cord injury. X-irradiation at 7 days post spinal cord injury may be the best time window.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Guangzhi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin 4th Central Hospital, Tianjin 300140, China.
authors.forename: Renhui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Qiuli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Shiqing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feng
keywords: X-irradiation; astrocytes; functional recovery; glial scar; grants-supported paper; neural regeneration; neuroregeneration; spinal cord