Spinal cord injury in rat

TLDR

The study tested whether transplanting bone marrow stromal cells into the spinal cord after contusion injury improves functional recovery. Thirty‑one rats received a weight‑driven contusion injury, and one week later were injected with MSCs or PBS; MSCs were tracked by immunohistochemistry and functional recovery was assessed weekly for five weeks using the Basso–Beattie–Bresnahan score. MSC transplantation led to significant functional improvement versus controls, with MSC‑derived cells expressing neural markers, indicating a potential therapeutic benefit after spinal cord injury.

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) into the spinal cord after a contusion injury promotes functional outcome. Rats (n = 31) were subjected to a weight driven implant injury. MSCs or phosphate buffered saline was injected into the spinal cord I week after injury. Sections of tissue were analyzed by double-labeled immunohistochemistry for MSC identification. Functional outcome measurements using the Basso-Beattie-Bresnehan score were performed weekly to 5 weeks post-injury. The data indicate significant improvement in functional outcome in animals treated with MSC transplantation compared to control animals. Scattered cells derived from MSCs expressed neural protein markers. These data suggest that transplantation of MSCs may have a therapeutic role after spinal cord injury.