High-Dose Neural Stem/Progenitor Cell Transplantation Increases Engraftment and Neuronal Distribution and Promotes Functional Recovery in Rats after Acutely Severe Spinal Cord Injury

Figure 1

High-dose transplantation improved injury microenvironment and significantly increased survival of NSPCs. (a) The mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines between the SCI, low-dose, and high-dose group ( animals per group, versus the SCI group; data are represented as ). (b) The mRNA expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines was measured by quantitative RT-PCR at three groups ( animals per group). There was a significant increase of anti-inflammatory cytokines in the high-dose group compared with the SCI group, not the low-dose group ( versus the SCI group; data are represented as ). (c) Time course of the gene expressions of neurohumoral factors in three groups ( animals per group). The mRNA level of BDNF, GDNF, IGF-1, and VEGF-A significantly increase at different time post high-dose transplantation compared to the SCI group (, versus the SCI group; data are represented as ). (d, e) Immunohistochemical analysis of engrafted NSPCs at 7 days postgrafting in the high-dose and low-dose group (the white dotted lines indicated the boundary between the host spinal cord and the lesion area). Scale bars: 500 μm. (D1, E1) High magnifications from (d, e) show GFP-positive cells survive in the lesion area. Scale bars: 100 μm. (f) Correlation between the numbers of surviving GFP-positive cells and the transplanted dose at 7 days postgrafting (Pearson , , animals per group).

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