ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Ligustrazine hydrochloride which promotes nerve repair can be applied to the treatment of nervous system injury. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of ligustrazine hydrochloride combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels transplantation on electrophysiological property and hindlimb function of rats with spinal cord injury. METHODS:T9 spinal cord transection injury models were made in rats using Alen’s method, and then rat models were randomized into three groups: rats in control group received tail vein injection of culture solution; rats in cel transplantation group underwent bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel transplantationvia the tail vein; rats in combined group were subjected to the tail vein injection of ligustrazine hydrochloride and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels that lasted for 4 hours. At 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks after modeling, Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scores and modified Tarlov scores were used to detect the motor function of rats. At 72 hours after modeling, RT-PCR method was used to detect the expression of Bcl-2 and basic fibroblast growth factor around the injured region. At 4 weeks after modeling, somatosensory and motor evoked potentials were measured for evaluation of neurophysiological recovery. At 8 weeks after modeling, horseradish peroxidase tracer was used to assess the regeneration of rat spinal cord nerve fibers; PKH-26 labeling was used to observe the survival and migration of transplanted cels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:At 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks after modeling, Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scores and modified Tarlov scores were significantly higher in the combined group than the cel transplantation folowed by the control group (P cel transplantation group > control group (P < 0.05). At 8 weeks after modeling, horseradish peroxidase-labeled pyramidal cels in the cel transplantation group and combined group showed apparent crossing signs; the number of PKH-26-positive cels and horseradish peroxidase-positive cels was the most in the combined group folowed by the cel transplantation group, and was the least in the control group (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that ligustrazine hydrochloride combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cels transplantation can facilitate nerve cel regeneration, promote the expression of Bcl-2 and basic fibroblast growth factor, and improve motor function in rats after spinal cord injury. Cite this article:Wu XM, Gao WS, Wang J, Cai HY.Neuroprotection of ligustrazine hydrochloride combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel transplantation in rats with spinal cord injury. Zhongguo Zuzhi Gongcheng Yanjiu. 2016;20(1):95-101.