Temporal and spatial distributions of CXC chemokine receptor 4 after spinal cord injury in Wistar rats

Abstract

Objective To investigate the temporal and spatial distributions and the role of CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in the process of recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) in Wistar rats.Methods Adult female Wistar rats (n =80) were randomly divided into eight groups:the groups of 1,2,3,4,7,14,28 days after SCI and control group (n =10 eacb).Immunohistochemical technique and hematoxylin-eosin staining technique were used to examine the changes of CXCR4 temporal and spatial distributions in the spinal cord of Wistar rats.Results After SCI in rats,the expression of CXCR4 in neurons,glial cells,macrophages and ependymal cells in spinal cord gray matter was increased,especially in neurons and macrophages.The number of the CXCR4 positive cells near the injury site was significantly greater than that in the rostral and caudal regions,while the gray matter contained more CXCR4 positive cells than white matter.Twenty-four h after SCI in rats,the expression of CXCR4 was increased (145 ± 3.46)/mm2,and on the 3rd day,the CXCR4 expression in the spinal cord gray matter reached the peak [(181.5 ±6.73)/mm2].Conclusion CXCR4 was widely expressed and presented characteristics of temporal and spatial distributions after SPI in rats. Key words: Spinal cord injury; CXC chemokine receptor 4