ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Even though estrogen can prevent secondary spinal cord injury, exert a neuroprotective role, and inhibit apoptosis in mesenchymal stem cells in vitro,little is reported on the combined use of estrogen and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)in the treatment of spinal cord injury. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects and mechanism of s intramuscular injection of estradiol combined with BMSCs in the treatment of spinal cord injury. METHODS: One hundred and forty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: combined group, BMSCs group, estradiol group and control group. After the establishment of spinal cord injury model, the rats were given intramuscular injection of estradiol 250 μg/kg estradiol combined with 6×106BMSCs (60 μL), BMSCs, estradiol or PBS in different groups, respectively. After transplantation, related indicators were detected. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: At 1 and 4 weeks after modeling, the behavioral scores in the combined group were significantly higher than those in the other three groups (P < 0.05). At 3 and 7 days after transplantation, superoxide dismutase levels in the combined group were significantly higher than those in the other three groups, but the malondialdehyde levels were lowest in the combined group (P < 0.05). At 3 and 7 days after transplantation, the apoptotic rate in the spinal cord tissues was significantly lower in the combined group than the other three groups (P < 0.05). To conclude, estradiol can alleviate secondary cell apoptosis and inhibit oxidative stress after spinal cord injury, which contributes to the spinal motor function recovery after BMSCs transplantation.