Journal
BIOENGINEERING & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/btm2.10326
Keywords
astrocyte; gold nanoparticle; neural stem cell; neuron; spinal cord injury
Funding
- National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF2020R1F1A1069875, NRF2021R1A6A3A13039427]
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This study investigates the recovery after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) by inducing cellular differentiation of transplanted neural stem cells (NSCs) into neurons. Results show that the use of a gel graft containing NSCs and positively charged gold nanoparticles (pGNP) promotes the differentiation of NSCs into neurons and reduces differentiation into astrocytes. Additionally, this treatment leads to increased regeneration of damaged axons and improved locomotor function. These findings suggest that embedding embryonic spinal cord-derived NSCs in a neuron-inducing pGNP gel graft can be an effective stem cell therapy for SCI.
In this study, we aimed to investigate the recovery after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) by inducing cellular differentiation of transplanted neural stem cells (NSCs) into neurons. We dissociated NSCs from the spinal cords of Fisher 344 rat embryos. An injectable gel crosslinked with glycol chitosan and oxidized hyaluronate was used as a vehicle for NSC transplantation. The gel graft containing the NSC and positively charged gold nanoparticles (pGNP) was implanted into spinal cord lesions in Sprague-Dawley rats (NSC-pGNP gel group). Cellular differentiation of grafted NSCs into neurons (stained with beta-tubulin III [also called Tuj1]) was significantly increased in the NSC-pGNP gel group (***p < 0.001) compared to those of two control groups (NSC and NSC gel groups) in the SCI conditions. The NSC-pGNP gel group showed the lowest differentiation into astrocytes (stained with glial fibrillary acidic protein). Regeneration of damaged axons (stained with biotinylated dextran amines) within the lesion was two-fold higher in the NSC-pGNP gel group than that in the NSC gel group. The highest locomotor scores were also found in the NSC-pGNP gel group. These outcomes suggest that neuron-inducing pGNP gel graft embedding embryonic spinal cord-derived NSCs can be a useful type of stem cell therapy after SCI.
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