Fang Chao, Sun Jian, Wei Laifu, Gao Fei, Qian Jun
Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, P.R. China.
Department of Spine Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230031, P.R. China.
Exp Ther Med. 2021 Sep;22(3):979. doi: 10.3892/etm.2021.10411. Epub 2021 Jul 12.
The mammalian spinal cord (SC) has a limited self-repair capacity and exogenous treatments are yet to produce substantial functional recovery following SC injury (SCI). The SC contains endogenous neural stem cells (NSCs) with multi-lineage differentiation potential and it may be possible to restore function via interventions that promote NSC differentiation following SCI. Oscillating field stimulation (OFS) has been reported to regulate the Wnt signaling pathway, a known modulator of NSC differentiation. However, the effects of OFS on NSC differentiation following SCI and associated functional recovery have not been previously examined. In the current study, the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) score was used to assess locomotion recovery following SCI in rats and immunofluorescence double-staining was used to examine the regeneration of neurons and oligodendrocytes derived from NSCs. Furthermore, Nissl staining was performed to assess the viability and survival of neurons following SCI, while recovery of the myelin sheath was examined by uranium-lead staining under transmission electron microscopy. OFS delivered via an implanted stimulator enhanced the differentiation of NSCs into neurons and oligodendrocytes and accelerated the regeneration of myelinated axons. Additionally, BBB scores revealed superior locomotion recovery in OFS-treated rats compared with SCI controls. Collectively, these results indicated that OFS may be a feasible strategy to promote SCI recovery by regulating the differentiation of endogenous NSCs.
哺乳动物的脊髓（SC）自我修复能力有限，在脊髓损伤（SCI）后，外部治疗尚未能带来实质性的功能恢复。脊髓含有具有多谱系分化潜能的内源性神经干细胞（NSCs），通过促进脊髓损伤后神经干细胞分化的干预措施有可能恢复功能。据报道，交变磁场刺激（OFS）可调节Wnt信号通路，而Wnt信号通路是已知的神经干细胞分化调节因子。然而，此前尚未研究过OFS对脊髓损伤后神经干细胞分化及相关功能恢复的影响。在本研究中，采用Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan（BBB）评分评估大鼠脊髓损伤后的运动恢复情况，并用免疫荧光双染色法检测源自神经干细胞的神经元和少突胶质细胞的再生。此外，进行尼氏染色以评估脊髓损伤后神经元的活力和存活情况，同时在透射电子显微镜下通过铀铅染色检查髓鞘的恢复情况。通过植入式刺激器施加的交变磁场刺激增强了神经干细胞向神经元和少突胶质细胞的分化，并加速了有髓轴突的再生。此外，BBB评分显示，与脊髓损伤对照组相比，接受交变磁场刺激治疗的大鼠运动恢复情况更佳。总体而言，这些结果表明，交变磁场刺激可能是一种通过调节内源性神经干细胞分化来促进脊髓损伤恢复的可行策略。
