Neural Stem Cells Transplanted Into Injured Spinal Cord Affect Apoptosis In Rats

Objectives: To evaluate the functional recovery of acute spinal cord injuried rats treated with transplantation neural stem cells and to study the effects of apoptosis and expression of bcl-2, bax on the experimental acute spinal cord injury and the neural stem cells that transplantated to it.Methods : In The center of molecule biology of Fujian Medical University, Neural stem cells were isolated, cultured and detected. Spinal cord injury (SCI) model was built by revised Allen method. The transplantation of BrdU-labeled cultured cells was performed immediately after injury. CBS scores were checked every day to show the motor function recovery. 1, 3, 7, 14, 21days postinjured the injured spinal cord was removed and detected by morphological observation and submitted to immunohistochemistry of the effects of apoptosis and expression of bcl-2, bax on the experimental acute spinal cord injury and the neural stem cells that transplantated to it.Results: ①. Cells isolated from spinal cord of neonatal rats express Nestin antigen. ②. Animals treated with NSCs had pronounced higher CBS of hindlimb movements compared to controls after 14 days (p<0.05) .③. The expression of apoptosis positive cell showed increased tendency from 1st to 7th, and decreased at 21th. Animals treated with NSCs had pronounced lower lever of apoptosis index (AI) compared to controls (p <0.05). ④. The expression of bcl-2 and bax positive cell showed increased tendency from 1st to 7th, and decreased at 14th. The Apoptosis level is lower in transplantation gloup than that in no-transplantation gloup. ⑤bcl-2/bax positively correlate to AI inthe two groups. (6). large numbers of BrdU-labeled stem cells were observed live in spinal cord after 21days.Conclusions:?. Spinal cord injury (SCI) model built by revised Allen method is a incomplete contusive spinal cord injury and is suit to use in study acute or chrinic SCI in rat . (2). NSCs can survive and engraft into injuried spinal cord in rats. ?. NSCs can improve pronounced higher CBS score of hindlimb movements compared to controls. ?NSCs play an important role in the incomplete contusive spinal cord injury by inhibiting apoptosis that NSCs can improve the expression of bcl-2 and inhibit the expression of bax .