Intrathecal transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells attenuates blood-spinal cord barrier disruption induced by spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in rabbits.

OBJECTIVE

Intrathecal administration of bone marrow stromal cells has been found to produce beneficial effects on ischemia-reperfusion injury to the spinal cord. The blood-spinal cord barrier is critical to maintain spinal cord homeostasis and neurologic function. However, the effects of bone marrow stromal cells on the blood-spinal cord barrier after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury are not well understood. This study investigated the effects and possible mechanisms of bone marrow stromal cells on blood-spinal cord barrier disruption induced by spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury.

METHODS

This was a prospective animal study conducted at the Central Laboratory of the First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University. The study used 81 Japanese white rabbits (weight, 1.8-2.6 kg). Spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury was induced in rabbits by infrarenal aortic occlusion for 30 minutes. Two days before the injury was induced, bone marrow stromal cells (1 × 10(8) in 0.2-mL phosphate-buffered saline) were transplanted by intrathecal injection. Hind-limb motor function was assessed using Tarlov criteria, and motor neurons in the ventral gray matter were counted by histologic examination. The permeability of the blood-spinal cord barrier was examined using Evans blue (EB) and lanthanum nitrate as vascular tracers. The expression and localization of tight junction protein occludin were assessed by Western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunofluorescence analysis. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression were also measured.

RESULTS

Intrathecal transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells minimized the neuromotor dysfunction and histopathologic deficits (P < .01) and attenuated EB extravasation at 4 hours (5.41 ± 0.40 vs 7.94 ± 0.36 μg/g; P < .01) and 24 hours (9.03 ± 0.44 vs 15.77 ± 0.89 μg/g; P < .01) after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury. In addition, bone marrow stromal cells treatment suppressed spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury-induced decreases in occludin (P < .01). Finally, bone marrow stromal cells reduced the excessive expression of MMP-9 and TNF-α (P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Pre-emptive intrathecal transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells stabilized the blood-spinal cord barrier integrity after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rabbit model of transient aortic occlusion. This beneficial effect was partly mediated by inhibition of MMP-9 and TNF-α and represents a potential therapeutic approach to mitigating spinal cord injury after aortic occlusion.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Clinical thoracoabdominal aorta surgery may trigger spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury, resulting in paraplegia as well as bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction. Transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells has attracted increasing attention in the field of nervous system protection, but its mechanisms have not been elucidated completely. The blood-spinal cord barrier plays a crucial role to maintain normal spinal cord function. This study suggested that intrathecal transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells stabilized blood-spinal cord barrier integrity through inhibiting the upregulation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and tumor necrosis factor-a and ameliorated spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury. This may provide a novel train of thought to enhance the protective effects of bone marrow stromal cells on spinal cord injury.