Spinal Progenitor-Laden Bridges Support Earlier Axon Regeneration Following Spinal Cord Injury

Following spinal cord injury (SCI), function is lost below the level of injury due to axon damage and demyelination. Spinal progenitors, and more broadly neural stem cells (NSCs), can promote the growth of axons through multiple mechanisms, yet their poor survival following transplantation has been limiting the ability to obtain functional effects. In this study, we investigated multi-channel poly(lactide-co¬-glycolide) (PLG) bridges, which reduce inflammation and promote axon regrowth, as a support for spinal progenitor survival and function at the injury epicenter. Specifically, we hypothesized that mouse embryonic day 14 (E14) spinal progenitors expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) would lead to regenerative gains compared to age-matched adult progenitor controls, which are expected to have similar regenerative capacity to the endogenous progenitors. E14spinal EGFP-progenitors were transplanted into a lateral T9-10 hemisection and EGFP+ cells were evident in the bridge and contralateral...