Abstract
BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the effects of abdominal aortic transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) on the expression of inflammatory cytokines in a rat model of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (N=160) were divided into five groups: the sham operation group (N-32); the control group (N=32); the BMMSC transplanted group (N=32); the anti-ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF)-treated BMMSC transplanted group (N=32); and the CNTF small interfering RNA (siRNA)-treated BMMSC transplanted group (N=32). Motor behavior was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scale. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (CSEPs) were measured. Immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blot analysis evaluated the expression of spinal inflammatory cytokines. RESULTS Following surgery, compared with the control group the findings in the BMMSC transplant groups included significantly increased BBB scores; the latency and the amplitude of MEP and CSEP were reduced and increased, respectively; spinal neuronal necrosis was reduced; the number of normal neurons increased; CNTF mRNA and protein expression levels increased; expression levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) were reduced and IL-10 levels were significantly increased (P<0.05). The effects of abdominal aortic BMMSC transplantation were at least partially reversed by both anti-CNTF and CNTF siRNA treatment. CONCLUSIONS In a rat model of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury, abdominal aortic transplantation of BMMSCs increased the expression of CNTF, which improved hindlimb locomotor recovery by regulating the expression of IL-6 and IL-10 to reduce inflammation of the spinal cord.