Zahra Zeraatpisheh, Esmaeil Mirzaei, Mohammad Nami, Hamed Alipour, Somayeh Ghasemian, Hassan Azari, Hadi Aligholi,
Volume 13, Issue 1 (January & February 2022)
Abstract
Introduction: Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a devastating disease with poor clinical outcomes. Animal models provide great opportunities to expand our horizons in identifying SCI pathophysiological mechanisms and introducing effective treatment strategies. The present study introduces a new murine contusion model.
Methods: A simple, cheap, and reproducible novel instrument was designed, which consisted of a body part, an immobilization piece, and a bar-shaped weight. The injury was inflicted to the spinal cord using an 8-g weight for 5, 10, or 15 minutes after laminectomy at the T9 level in male C57BL/6 mice. Motor function, cavity formation, cell injury, and macrophage infiltration were evaluated 28 days after injury.
Results: The newly designed instrument minimized adverse spinal movement during injury induction. Moreover, no additional devices, such as a stereotaxic apparatus, were required to stabilize the animals during the surgical procedure. Locomotor activity was deteriorated after injury. Furthermore, tissue damage and cell injury were exacerbated by increasing the duration of weight exertion. In addition, macrophage infiltration around the injured tissue was observed 28 days after injury.
Conclusion: This novel apparatus could induce a controllable SCI with a clear cavity formation in mice. No accessory elements are needed, which can be used in future SCI studies.
Zohreh Bagheri, Fatemeh Shamsi, Zahra Zeraatpisheh, Mahin Salmannejad, Ahmad Soltani, Hadi Aligholi,
Volume 13, Issue 2 (March & April 2022)
Abstract
Introduction: The present study addressed whether methylprednisolone (MP) as an anti-inflammatory drug used in neurodegenerative diseases and neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs) is safe.
Methods: First, embryonic rat NS/PCs were exposed to different concentrations of MP, and then we evaluated their survival by MTT assay, proliferation by analyzing the number and diameter of neurospheres, and the migration of the cells by neurosphere assay.
Results: The viability of NS/PCs was reduced following exposure to 10, 15, and 20 µg/mL of MP. In addition, although the number of neurospheres did not change, exposure to different concentrations of MP resulted in the formation of smaller neurospheres. Despite these undesirable effects, the highest concentration of MP (20 μg/mL) increased the migration capacity of the NS/PCs.
Conclusion: The combination of MP and NS/PCs is not recommended due to the adverse effects of MP on the survival and proliferation of NS/PCs.
