Effect of transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells and treadmill exercise on axonal sprouting, prevention of muscle atrophy, and functional recovery after spinal cord contusion

,; ,; ,; ,; ,; ,; ,; ,

doi:2013.22.3.223

Exerc Sci > Volume 22(3); 2013 > Article

Exercise Science 2013;22(3): 223-232. doi: https://doi.org/10.15857/ksep.2013.22.3.223

척수 좌상 후 골수간질세포 이식과 트레드밀 운동이 축삭 성장, 근위축 방지 및 기능적 회복에 미치는 효과

서태범¹, 김창선², 김상배³, 윤진환⁴

¹경희대학교
²동덕여자대학교
³강원대학교
⁴한남대학교

Effect of transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells and treadmill exercise on axonal sprouting, prevention of muscle atrophy, and functional recovery after spinal cord contusion

ABSTRACT

Transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells(BMSCs) is a new therapeutic tool for improving functional deficits after spinal cord contusion injury(SCI). Treadmill exercise has been known to facilitate motor and sensory functions and to prevent skeletal muscle atrophy after SCI. Here we investigated the effect of transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells and treadmill exercise on axonal sprouting, prevention of muscle atrophy and functional recovery after SCI. The rats were divided into four groups: the sham operation group(n=10), SCI and PBS injection group(n=10), SCI and BMSCs transplantation group(n=10), and SCI and BMSCs transplantation and treadmill exercise group(n=10). To determine functional recovery after SCI, we carried out Basso-Brestti-Brenahan(BBB) and Grid walk tests. BMSCs transplantation and combining exercise with grafting significantly improved SCI-induced behavioral deficits at 3 and 5 weeks after grafting. But combining exercise with grafting didn't show better functional recovery than BMSCs grafting after SCI. Although almost all DiI-labled axons after SCI disappeared in lumbar 1 to 2 levels, BMSCs transplantation and combining exercise with grafting increased the number of sprouting axons in the region caudal to the epicenter at 6 weeks post injury. Also the results of present study suggested that myostatin expression levels were further decreased by combining exercise with grafting when compared to grafting group. Our data provide new evidence that combining exercise with BMSCs transplantation may be an important therapeutic approach for improving functional and histological deficits and inhibiting skeletal muscle atrophy after SCI.

Key words: Spinal cord injury, Treadmill exercise, Bone marrow stromal cell, Transplantation, Myostatin