title: Transplantation of human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene-transfected Schwann cells for repairing spinal cord injury.
abstract: Transfection of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene has been shown to increase cell proliferation and enhance tissue repair. In the present study, hTERT was transfected into rat Schwann cells. A rat model of acute spinal cord injury was established by the modified free-falling method. Retrovirus PLXSN was injected at the site of spinal cord injury as a vector to mediate hTERT gene-transfected Schwann cells (1 × 10(10)/L; 10 μL) or Schwann cells (1 × 10(10)/L; 10 μL) without hTERT gene transfection. Between 1 and 4 weeks after model establishment, motor function of the lower limb improved in the hTERT-transfected group compared with the group with non-transfected Schwann cells. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction results revealed that the number of apoptotic cells, and gene expression of aquaporin 4/9 and matrix metalloproteinase 9/2 decreased at the site of injury in both groups; however, the effect improved in the hTERT-transfected group compared with the Schwann cells without hTERT transfection group. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, PKH26 fluorescent labeling, and electrophysiological testing demonstrated that compared with the non-transfected group, spinal cord cavity and motor and sensory evoked potential latencies were reduced, while the number of PKH26-positive cells and the motor and sensory evoked potential amplitude increased at the site of injury in the hTERT-transfected group. These findings suggest that transplantation of hTERT gene-transfected Schwann cells repairs the structure and function of the injured spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Quan
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Orthopedic Hospital, Second Hospital, Clinical Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Min-Fei
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Bei
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Qing-San
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4406-1553
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gu
keywords: Schwann cells; cells; modification; motor function; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; proliferation; reverse transcriptase; spinal cord injury; telomerase; transplantation