The intermittent treadmill training with stem cells transplantation improves axogenesis and promotes muscle plasticity in contusion spinal cord injury

Despite the different treatment strategies, reconstruction and recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) is controversial, and the limitations indicate various involved factors in the therapeutic achievement. Therefore, this study aimed to use intermittent treadmill training with lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) transplantation in the contusion spinal cord injury rat model.In this experimental study, forty female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly assigned to four groups (control SCI model, sham laminectomy with saline infusion, cell therapy, and cell-treadmill therapy). SCI moderate contusion model was performed by the NYU-Impactor. ADSCs after isolation and culture, induced to neuron-like cells with ۱mM LiCl and transplanted into intraspinal tissue in ۷ days post-SCI. The intermittent treadmill training began post-injury on day ۴, (۲۰ min per day, ۵ days per week), for ۷ weeks. The electrophysiological somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) test was used for spinal repair and axogenesis assessment. Histological examination was performed for the soleus muscle (fiber type composition and fat infiltration) at the end of ۸ weeks.SSEP amplitude was significantly increased and latency decreased ۵۶ days post-injury in cell therapy and cell-treadmill therapy, which indicated the spinal tract repair and axogenesis. Cell-treadmill therapy diminished the slow-to-rapid soleus muscle fiber transition and the rate of fat infiltration and muscular atrophy were significantly decreased.Combination cell-treadmill therapy was able to promote spinal repair and increase axogenesis. Also, it reduced muscular atrophy and fat infiltration. So, it can be a therapeutic choice for functional recovery after spinal cord injury.

کلیدواژه ها:

Spinal cord injury ، Lithium chloride ، Stem cells ، Treadmill training