BACKGROUND This study aimed to investigate the effects of abdominal aortic
transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) on the expression of inflammatory
cytokines in a rat model of
spinal cord ischemia-
reperfusion injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (N=160) were divided into five groups: the
sham operation group (N-32); the control group (N=32); the BMMSC transplanted group (N=32); the anti-
ciliary neurotrophic factor (
CNTF)-treated BMMSC transplanted group (N=32); and the
CNTF small interfering RNA (
siRNA)-treated BMMSC transplanted group (N=32). Motor behavior was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor scale. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (CSEPs) were measured. Immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and Western blot analysis evaluated the expression of spinal inflammatory
cytokines. RESULTS Following surgery, compared with the control group the findings in the BMMSC transplant groups included significantly increased BBB scores; the latency and the amplitude of MEP and CSEP were reduced and increased, respectively; spinal neuronal
necrosis was reduced; the number of normal neurons increased;
CNTF mRNA and
protein expression levels increased; expression levels of
interleukin-6 (IL-6) were reduced and
IL-10 levels were significantly increased (P<0.05). The effects of abdominal aortic BMMSC
transplantation were at least partially reversed by both anti-
CNTF and
CNTF siRNA treatment. CONCLUSIONS In a rat model of
spinal cord ischemia-
reperfusion injury, abdominal aortic
transplantation of BMMSCs increased the expression of
CNTF, which improved hindlimb locomotor recovery by regulating the expression of
IL-6 and
IL-10 to reduce
inflammation of the spinal cord.