Trehalose Augments Neuron Survival and Improves Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury via mTOR-Independent Activation of Autophagy

Figure 4

Effect of trehalose on tissue preservation, neuron survival, and functional recovery in SCI rats. (a) HE staining of the rostral segment (5 mm to epicenter) of the injured spinal cord in the three different groups (control, SCI, and SCI+TRE) on day 7; scale bar: 200 μm and 100 μm. (b) Quantitative analysis of cavity percentage in the injured spinal cord at the rostral and caudal segments (5 mm to epicenter). (c) Nissl staining of the rostral segment (5 mm to epicenter) of the injured spinal cord in each group on day 7; scale bar: 20 μm. (d) Quantitation of the number of neurons in the injured spinal cord at the epicenter, rostral, and caudal segments. (e) BBB scores of rats in the control group, the SCI group, and the SCI+TRE group at 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after acute traumatic SCI. for HE staining, Nissl staining, and BBB score testing. NS stands for nonsignificance. for comparisons with the control rats and ^# and ^## for comparisons between SCI rats.

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