Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2026
Promotion of Survival and Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells with Fibrin and Growth Factor Cocktails after Severe Spinal Cord Injury
Published on: July 27, 2014
Changes in FGF-2 expression in the distal spinal cord stump after complete cord transection: a comparison between
Mei-Ling Qi1, Yoshiaki Wakabayashi, Hirotaka Haro
1Department of Frontier Surgical Therapeutics, Division of Advanced Therapeutical Sciences, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Study Design:
Expression patterns of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) in distal transected spinal cord in infant and adult rats were determined by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunostaining.
Objective:
To reveal the expression pattern of FGF-2 in distal transected cord of infant and adult rats.
Summary Of Background Data:
Descending fibers in the spinal cord of infant and adult rats show different regenerative capacity. One explanation is that different levels of FGF-2, an important neurotrophic factor for promoting neurite outgrowth and repair, are expressed in the distal transected cords of the rats, providing different levels of support for severed axons.
Materials And Methods:
Spinal cords of infant and adult rats were completely transected. At 12, 24, and 72 hours and at 1 week, segments of distal spinal cord tissues were removed and expression of FGF-2 mRNA was evaluated by RT-PCR. The distribution of FGF-2 and the phenotype of FGF-2-positive cells were determined by immunostaining.
Results:
Expression of FGF-2 mRNA was shown to be up-regulated in the distal cord of infant rats but not adult rats. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that neurons in distal cord of infant rats were rich in FGF-2 immunoreactivity (IR), whereas in adult rat neurons FGF-2 IR was hardly observed at all, although a few FGF-2-positive astrocytes were observed in the white matter.
Conclusion:
After complete spinal cord transection, the expression of FGF-2 in the distal cord of infant rats was high compared with that of adults. This may provide neurotrophic support for axonal extension and functional recovery.
More Related Videos
07:59A Radio-telemetric System to Monitor Cardiovascular Function in Rats with Spinal Cord Transection and Embryonic Neural Stem Cell Grafts
Published on: October 7, 2014
06:31Automated Gait Analysis to Assess Functional Recovery in Rodents with Peripheral Nerve or Spinal Cord Contusion Injury
Published on: October 6, 2020