title: Lavandula angustifolia Extract Improves the Result of Human Umbilical Mesenchymal Wharton's Jelly Stem Cell Transplantation after Contusive Spinal Cord Injury in Wistar Rats.
abstract: Introduction. The primary trauma of spinal cord injury (SCI) results in severe damage to nervous functions. At the cellular level, SCI causes astrogliosis. Human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs), isolated from Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord, can be easily obtained. Previously, we showed that the neuroprotective effects of Lavandula angustifolia can lead to improvement in a contusive SCI model in rats. Objective. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of L. angustifolia (Lav) on HUMSC transplantation after acute SCI. Materials and Methods. Sixty adult female rats were randomly divided into eight groups. Every week after SCI onset, all animals were evaluated for behavior outcomes. H&E staining was performed to examine the lesions after injury. GFAP expression was assessed for astrogliosis. Somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) testing was performed to detect the recovery of neural conduction. Results. Behavioral tests showed that the HUMSC group improved in comparison with the SCI group, but HUMSC + Lav 400 was very effective, resulting in a significant increase in locomotion activity. Sensory tests and histomorphological and immunohistochemistry analyses verified the potentiation effects of Lav extract on HUMSC treatment. Conclusion. Transplantation of HUMSCs is beneficial for SCI in rats, and Lav extract can potentiate the functional and cellular recovery with HUMSC treatment in rats after SCI.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 19568-37173, Iran.
authors.forename: Kayvan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yaghoobi
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 19568-37173, Iran.
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Korosh
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mansouri
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shaghayegh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Davoodi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Homayoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Sadraie
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 19568-37173, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Ruhollah
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Hosseini