This study investigated whether electro-acupuncture (EA) would improvethe survival and migration of neural stem cells (NSCs) transplanted ininjured spinal cord as well as the potential mechanisms. TlO spinal cordsegments of 50 adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were completely transected,and then NSCs were immediately transplanted into the transected site of theexperimental animals, while control animals were sham operated withouttransplantation. Five days post-operation, electro-acupuncture treatment onGV9 (Zhiyang), GV6 (Jizhong), GV2 (Yaoshu) and GVI (Changqiang)acupoints was applied for 14 days (EA+NSCs 14d) and 30 days (EA+NSCs30d). ELISA and immunohistochemical staining were used to assess thecontent of neurotrophine-3 (NT-3) and the characteristics of transplantedNSCs. We found that the number of transplanted NSCs the survived inEA+NSCs14d group was significantly increased as compared to that of theNSCs30d group (5825.20+819.01vs 4781.40+500.49, P<0.05).19Immunostaining indicated that some transplanted NSCs developed intomicrotubule association protein 2 (MAP2) positive cells and many of themdeveloped into glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive cells in theNSCs30d group. Further, the migration length of transplanted NSCs towardcaudal tissue in the injured site was longer in the EA+NSCs30d group thanthat in NSCs30d group (5.98+0.79mm vs 3.96+1.72mm; P<0.05). AlsoNT-3 in injured spinal cord tissue was 23% increased in the EA+NSCs14dgroup. These results suggest that the combination of EA and NSCs improvesthe survival and migration of NSCs in injured spinal cord in rats.

Spinal cord transection results in severe neurological sequelae, and to date, there is no effective treatment. Because of the limited capacity for axonal regeneration in the spinal cord, recovery is minimal. Recently, efforts have been made to establish, by grafting neural tissue, a functional relay-station between the severed stumps of the injured cord. Previously, we used co-transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) and Schwann cells (SCs) to improve functional recovery of transected spinal cord. However, this effort has been partially impeded by limited neuronal differentiation of transplanted NSCs. To circumvent this problem, we have pre-differentiated NSCs toward neurons in vitro with the application of retinoic acid (RA) prior to cell grafting. Further, we genetically modifiedSCs to overexpress human neurotrophin-3 (hNT-3). When these cells were co-transplanted into the transected spinal cord of rats, injured animals had partial improvement (both functionally and structurally), including improved Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) scores, increased axonal regeneration/remyelination, and reduced neuronal loss. However, this pre-differentiation of NSCs in vitro only mildly improved neuronal differentiation of NSCs in vivo.

Cyclosporine is one of the foremost immunosuppressive agents for cell, tissue, and organ transplantation. Cyclosporine is, however, associatedwith signicant side e

The present study investigated whether morphine can promote regeneration and synaptic reconstruction of the terminals of injured primary afferent fibers in lamina II of the spinal cord in rats following sciatic nerve injury. Fluoride-resistant acid phosphatase (FRAP)- positive terminals in lamina II of the L4 spinal segment after sciatic nerve injury were assessed after treatment with vehicle, morphine, and naloxone plus morphine. Under the electron microscope, types I and II complex terminals of unmyelinated afferent fibers from the dorsal root, simple terminals of interneuronal axons, and terminals of descending axons at lamina II of the L4 spinal segment were documented in the different groups after injury. FRAP-positive terminals in lamina II were depleted after sciatic nerve injury in the vehicle group. Treatment with morphine increased the numbers of FRAP-positive terminals, and this was prevented by naloxone. The present study demonstrates that morphine may promote the regeneration and synaptic reconstruction of the terminals of injured primary unmyelinated afferent fibers in lamina II of spinal cord, by a process mediated by μ-opioid receptors.

An animal model oftransected spinal cord injury (SCI) was used to test thehypothesis that cografted neural stem cells (NSCs) and NT-3-SCs promote morphologic andfunctional recoveries of injured spinal cord.Objective: To explore whether cotransplant ofNSC s and NT-3-SCs could promote the injured spinal cord repair. Setting: Zhongshan Medical College, Sun Yat-sen University, PR China. Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats weighing on 200-220g were used to prepare SCI models. The spinal cord was transected between T9 and T10, then NSCs, SCs