Effect of fetal spinal cord transplantation on graft glia fibrillary acidic protein expression after spinal cord injury in rats

Objective To investigate whether fetal spinal cord (FSC) transplantation effected the expression of the glia fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) mRNA and immunoreaction of GFAP as well as functional recovery after spinal cord injury in rats. Methods Experimental rats were divided into 2 groups, spinal cord hemisection injury combination with transplantation of FSC to injured site group (Group A), spinal cord injury and recept of gelfoam pledgets group (Group B). Rats were killed at 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 days. Then, open field and inclined plane tests, somatosensory evoked potentials(SEP) and motor evoked potentials(MEP) were examined. An in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry was used to examine the spinal cord lesion and neighbor areas. The positive cells were quantitatively analysed by a computer image analysis system. Results In Group A, the number of cell expression protein GFAP mRNA and GFAP immunoreaction was more than that in Group B. By 28 days following injury, positive astrocytes cell of Group A returned to normal level but, the positive cells increased by 14 days postinjury in Group B. These increases in GFAP positive cells were paralleled by a significant improvement in neurological function recovery. Conclusions FSC transplantation is sufficient to reduce multiple aspects of gliosis and can promote neurological function recovery of adult rats after spinal cord injury.