Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Expressing the Neurogenin-2 Promote Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury in Rat.

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Neurogenin2 (Ngn2) is a proneural gene that directs neuronal differentiation of progenitor cells during development. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) over-expressing the Ngn2 transgene (Ngn2-ADSCs) could display the characteristics of neurogenic cells and improve functional recovery in an experimental rat model of SCI. ADSCs from rats were cultured and purified in vitro, followed by genetically modified with the Ngn2 gene. Forty-eight adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to three groups: the control, ADSCs, and Ngn2-ADSCs groups. The hind-limb motor function of all rats was recorded using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale for 8 weeks. Moreover, hematoxylineosin staining and immunohistochemistry were also performed. After neural induction, positive expression rate of NeuN in Ngn2-ADSCs group was upon 90 %. Following transplantation, a great number of ADSCs was found around the center of the injury spinal cord at 1 and 4 weeks, which improved retention of tissue at the lesion site. Ngn2-ADSCs differentiated into neurons, indicated by the expression of neuronal markers, NeuN and Tuj1. Additionally, transplantation of Ngn2-ADSCs upregulated the trophic factors (brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor), and inhibited the glial scar formation, which was indi

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

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