Repair effect of Schwann cells modified by microgene pSVPoMcat on injured spinal cord in rats

Objective: To observe the repair effect of Schwann cells (SCs) modified by microgene pSVPoMcat on injured spinal cord in rats. Methods: Semi transection injury at the level of T 8 of spinal cord was made with cutting method on 120 Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Then 40 rats implanted with SCs modified by microgene pSVPoMcat were taken as Group A, 40 rats implanted with simple SCs as Group B and the other 40 rats were taken as the control group (Group C). The functional recovery of the rats was observed through combined behavioral score (CBS) and cortical somatosensory evoked potential (CSEP), and the expression of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was measured with in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry. At 3 months after operation, the rats were examined with magnetic resonance image (MRI), and the neurofilaments (NF) of the axons were stained with immunohistochemical method. Results: GFAP expression in Group A was significantly lower than that of the other 2 groups. MRI showed that the spinal signals in the injured area recovered fundamentally in Group A, didnt recover in Group B and malacia focus was found in Group C, which was same as the results of NF staining. Wave amplitudes in incubation periods in Group A and Group B tended to recover. It recovered to the normal level in Group A, which was similar to the results of CBS.Conclusions: SCs modified by microgene pSVPoMcat can inhibit GFAP expression, improve the growth of the axons and the functional recovery of neurons after spinal cord injury.