Schwann cells generated from neonatal skin-derived precursors or neonatal peripheral nerve improve functional recovery after acute transplantation into the partially injured cervical spinal cord of the rat.
The transplantation of Schwann cells (SCs) holds considerable promise as a therapy for spinal cord injury, but the optimal source of these cells and the best timing for intervention remains debatable. Previously, we demonstrated that delayed transplantation of SCs generated from neonatal mouse skin-derived precursors (SKP-SCs) promoted repair and functional recovery in rats with thoracic contusions. Here, we conducted two experiments using neonatal rat cells and an incomplete cervical injury model to examine the efficacy of acute SKP-SC transplantation versus media control (Experiment 1) and versus nerve-derived SC or dermal fibroblast (Fibro) transplantation (Experiment 2). Despite limited graft survival, by 10 weeks after injury, rats that received SCs from either source showed improved functional recovery compared with media- or fibroblast-treated animals. Compared with media treatment, SKP-SC-transplanted rats showed enhanced rubrospinal tract (RST) sparing/plasticity in the gray matter (GM) rostral to injury, particularly in the absence of immunosuppression. The functional benefits of SC transplantations over fibroblast treatment correlated with the enhanced preservation of host tissue, reduced RST atrophy, and/or increased RST sparing/plasticity in the GM. In summary, our results indicate that: (1) early transplantation of neonatal SCs generated from skin or nerve promotes repair and functional recovery after incomplete cervical crush injury; (2) either of these cell types is preferable to Fibros for these purposes; and (3) age-matched SCs from these two sources do not differ in terms of their reparative effects or functional efficacy after transplantation into the injured cervical spinal cord.
['Sparling|Joseph S|JS|http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8004-0958', 'Bretzner|Frederic|F|', 'Biernaskie|Jeff|J|', 'Assinck|Peggy|P|', 'Jiang|Yuan|Y|', 'Arisato|Hiroki|H|', 'Plunet|Ward T|WT|', 'Borisoff|Jaimie|J|', 'Liu|Jie|J|', 'Miller|Freda D|FD|', 'Tetzlaff|Wolfram|W|']
D000818:Animals D000831:Animals, Newborn D001710:Biotin D002454:Cell Differentiation D002478:Cells, Cultured D066193:Cervical Cord D003911:Dextrans D004195:Disease Models, Animal D005552:Forelimb D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins D009043:Motor Activity D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins D010525:Peripheral Nerves D051381:Rats D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley D055647:Rats, Transgenic D020127:Recovery of Function D012583:Schwann Cells D012867:Skin D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries D017154:Stromal Cells
Schwann cells transplantation spinal cord injury cyclosporine A forelimb behavior skin-derived precusors