Abstract
In the present study, we transplanted E13.5 spinal cord-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) into the acutely avulsed ventral horn of adult rats. The results showed that NPCs survived and integrated nicely within the host ventral horn at 6 weeks post-grafting. Although the majority of grafted NPCs differentiated into astrocytes and only a small proportion into neuronal cells, interestingly, grafted NPCs in the avulsed ventral horn significantly enhanced the survival of injured motoneurons and promoted their regeneration into a peripheral nerve (PN) graft, as revealed by retrograde FluoroGold (FG) labeling. Specific ELISAs, Western blotting, and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) demonstrated that NPCs produced nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and glial cell line-derived neutrophilic factor (GDNF), both in vitro and after transplantation in vivo. These results indicate that NPCs have beneficial effects on the survival and axonal regeneration of avulsion-injured motoneurons after transplantation. Such beneficial effects are possibly due to their inherent ability to secrete various trophic factors after transplantation in vivo.
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