Cortical AAV-CNTF Gene Therapy Combined with Intraspinal Mesenchymal Precursor Cell Transplantation Promotes Functional and Morphological Outcomes after Spinal Cord Injury in Adult Rats

Figure 2

Two examples (A–E and F–H) of animals that received cortical AAV-CNTF^mCherry injections and with mCherry-positive corticospinal axons distal to spinal cysts (D, E, I and J), and therefore distal to the initial injury. In all images rostral is to the left. (A, F) Low power views of cysts (β-III tubulin-immunostained sections) in each rat; the arrows in (A) and (B) point to the approximate location of the axons shown in (D, E, and H), respectively. (B, C) Large numbers of mCherry-positive axons (arrow) dorsal to the large rostral cyst (see (A)), with small numbers of irregularly organized axons distal (D, E). (G) mCherry-labelled axons rostral and dorsal to the cyst, with several axons (arrows) located distal to the injury (H). In one animal injected with AAV-CNTF^mCherry and that received a spinal rMPC injection, numerous mCherry-positive axons (arrowed) were seen distal to the most caudal lesion cavity (I, J). Scale bars: (A, F), 1 mm; (B), 500 μm; (C, G), 200 μm; (D, E, I, and J), 100 μm; and (H) = 50 μm.