Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) Promote the Repair of Spinal Cord Injury Nerve Cells by Regulating the Toll-Like Receptor 4/Nuclear Transcription Factor-Kappa B (TLR4/NF-κB) Signaling Pathway

Abstract

To explore the role of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) transplantation and erythropoietin (EPO) in repairing nerve function after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. SCI SD model rats (n = 60) were randomly assigned into control group, BMSCs group, combined group (BMSCs combined with EPO treatment) with 20 rats in each group followed by analysis of rat nerve function on day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 after SCI using BBB scoring standard, cell apoptosis by TUNEL kit staining along with detection of NF200 expression. On day 7, 14, and 28 after SCI, BBB scores of BMSCs group and both the BMSCs group and the combined group had significantly higher BBB scores (P < 0.05), and the combined group had a higher BBB score (P < 0.05). On day 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28 after SCI, the apoptosis index of BMSCs group and combination group were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) with more reduction in combination group than BMSCs group (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, BMSCs group and combination group presented increased NF200 expression and BrdU positive rate compared to control group (P < 0.05). In SCI rats, the combined use of BMSCs transplantation and EPO therapy can effectively reduce cell apoptosis, upregulate neurofilament protein, and effectively promote recovery of nerve function.