title: Neural stem cell transplantation combined with erythropoietin for the treatment of spinal cord injury in rats.
abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) comprises nerve and motor function disorders that may be caused by a variety of damaging factors and is challenging to treat. The aim of the present study was to investigate the regenerative effects of neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation combined with intraperitoneal injection of erythropoietin (EPO) on cross-sectional SCI in rats. A model of SCI was induced in 40 adult Wistar rats via the complete transection of the 10th thoracic vertebra (T10). The rats were allocated at random into 4 groups: Control, NSC, EPO and NSC + EPO groups (n=10 per group). Morphological alterations associated with axonal regeneration were detected using neurofilament (NF)-200 immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining after 8 weeks. Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scoring was used to evaluate the recovery of hindlimb function. A total of 5 rats died following surgery, including 2 control rats and 1 rat each in the EPO, NSC and NSC + EPO groups. NSCs labeled with bromodeoxyuridine were observed to have survived and migrated in the spinal cord tissue after 8 weeks. Significant histomorphological differences were observed in the NSC and NSC + EPO groups compared with the EPO and control groups. Furthermore, the rats of the NSC + EPO group exhibited significantly enhanced axonal regeneration in the SCI area compared with the NSC group rats. The rats of the NSC and NSC + EPO groups exhibited significantly improved BBB scores compared with the EPO and control group rats at 7 days after treatment (P<0.05). In addition, the BBB scores of the NSC + EPO group were significantly improved compared with those of the three other groups at 7 days after surgery (P<0.05). Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that NSC transplantation combined with intraperitoneal injection of EPO may benefit the survival and regeneration of injured axons, and accelerate the repair of injured spinal cord tissue, thus facilitating the functional recovery of hindlimb locomotor function in rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic and Spinal Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Spinal Surgery, Third Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiliang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hunjun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracolumbar Spine Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010030, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yulong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
keywords: cell transplantation; erythropoietin; neural stem cells; spinal cord injury