Anatomical mechanism of spontaneous recovery in regions caudal to thoracic spinal cord injury lesions in rats

PeerJ

article

Lu-sheng Li¹  Hao Yu¹  Raynald Raynald³  Xiao-dong Wang³  Guang-hui Dai³  Hong-bin Cheng³  Xue-bin Liu³  Yi-hua An¹ 

[1] Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University;Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital Affiliated with Capital Medical University;Department of Functional Neurosurgery and Cytotherapy, General Hospital of Chinese People’s Armed Police Forces

关键词: Spinal cord injuries;    Transection;    Electrophysiology;    Repair;    Function recovery;    Hindlimbs;    Nerve regeneration;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.2865

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe nerve fibre circuits around a lesion play a major role in the spontaneous recovery process after spinal cord hemisection in rats. The aim of the present study was to answer the following question: in the re-control process, do all spinal cord nerves below the lesion site participate, or do the spinal cord nerves of only one vertebral segment have a role in repair?MethodsFirst we made a T7 spinal cord hemisection in 50 rats. Eight weeks later, they were divided into three groups based on distinct second operations at T7: ipsilateral hemisection operation, contralateral hemisection, or transection. We then tested recovery of hindlimbs for another eight weeks. The first step was to confirm the lesion had role or not in the spontaneous recovery process. Secondly, we performed T7 spinal cord hemisections in 125 rats. Eight weeks later, we performed a second single hemisection on the ipsilateral side at T8–T12 and then tested hindlimb recovery for another six weeks.ResultsIn the first part, the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) scores and the electrophysiology tests of both hindlimbs weren’t significantly different after the second hemisection of the ipsilateral side. In the second part, the closer the second hemisection was to T12, the more substantial the resulting impairment in BBB score tests and prolonged latency periods.ConclusionsThe nerve regeneration from the lesion area after hemisection has no effect on spontaneous recovery of the spinal cord. Repair is carried out by all vertebrae caudal and ipsilateral to the lesion, with T12 being most important.

【 授权许可】

CC BY