Effects of hyperbaric oxygen combined with neural stem cell transplantation on functional recovery after spinal cord injury

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) combined with neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation on functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI).Methods Forty healthy adult Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham group,an SCI group,an NSC group and an HBO+NSC group.In the latter three groups,complete spinal cord transection was performed at T10.The rats of the HBO+NSC group were treated with HBO therapy after NSC transplantation.Hindlimb motor function was assessed with the BassoBeattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scale and tilt table testing.Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were measured to evaluate the rats'nerve conduction function.The amount of surviving transplanted NSCs at the injured site was counted using Hoechst dyeing.Results The average BBB scores and tilt table test results in the HBO+NSCs group were significantly better than in the SCI and NSC groups from the 2nd week post-SCI.By the 4th week the average latency period and MEP amplitude in the HBO+NSC group were significantly better than in the NSC group,while MEPs in the SCI group still had not re-appeared.The surviving amount of transplanted NSCs in the HBO+NSC group was also significantly greater than in the NSC group.Conclusion HBO combined with NSC transplantation has synergistic effects and can improve functional recovery after SCI.This may be explained by the important role of HBO in promoting the survival of transplanted NSCs. Key words: Spinal cord injury; Neural stem cells; Hyperbaric oxygen