Effects Of Co-grafts Bone Marrow Stromal Cells And Nerve Growth Factor Suspension In The Repair Of Spinal Cord Injury

【Objective】: To investigate the treatment of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) combined with nerve growth factor (NGF) in the repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) in adult rats and examine whether the combination of these protocols is more effective than a single protocol.【Method】: spinal cord of adult rats ( n = 32) was injured with the modified Allen's method. One week after injury , the injured cords were injected with Dubecco-modified Eagles Medium(DMEM , GroupI) , BMSCs (BMSCs,Group II) , NGF (Group III) , BMSCs plus NGF(Group IV) .One month and two months after injury, rats were sacrificed and their injured cord tissues were sectioned to identify the transplanted cells under fluorescent microscopy. We observed axonal regeneration and the differentiation of BMSCs by immunocytochemical staining was conducted for neurofilament (NF) and Neuron-Specific Nuclear Protein (NeuN) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). We observed the measurement of the cavity volume by stained with hematoxylin–eosin (HE). At the same time, rats were subjected to behavioral tests by using the open-field BBB scoring system.【Result】: one month and two months after transplantation, immunocytochemical staining showed that axonal regeneration and the transplanted cells partially expressed NeuN and GFAP. At the same time, significant reduction in the lesion area (P < 0.05) and improvement in BBB locomotor rating scale (P < 0.05) were found in the cases that received implantation, as compared with those that received vehicle injection. More importantly, further reduction in lesion area and improvement in the function were observed in the combined treatment group. 【conclusion】: BMSCs can differentiate into neurons and astrocytes. BMSCs and NGF can reduce lesion size, promote axonal regeneration and improve functional recovery. There may be a synergistic effect between BMSCs and NGF.