Exercise combined with administration of adipose-derived stem cells ameliorates neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

Experimental studies have shown that exercise and human adipose-derived stem cells(ADSCs)play positive roles in spinal cord injury(SCI).However,whether ADSCs and/or exercise have a positive effect on SCI-induced neuropathic pain is still unclear.Thus,there is a need to explore the effects of exercise combined with administration of ADSCs on neuropathic pain after SCI.In this study,a thoracic 11(T11)SCI contusion model was established in adult C57BL/6 mice.Exercise was initiated from 7 days post-injury and continued to 28 days post-injury,and approximately 1×105 ADSCs were transplanted into the T11 spinal cord lesion site immediately after SCI.Motor function and neuropathic pain-related behaviors were assessed weekly using the Basso Mouse Scale,von Frey filament test,Hargreaves method,and cold plate test.Histological studies(Eriochrome cyanine staining and immunohistochemistry)were performed at the end of the experiment(28 days post-injury).Exercise combined with administration of ADSCs partially improved early motor function(7,14,and 21 days postinjury),mechanical allodynia,mechanical hypoalgesia,thermal hyperalgesia,and thermal hypoalgesia.Administration of ADSCs reduced white and gray matter loss at the lesion site.In addition,fewer microglia and astrocytes(as identified by expression of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein,respectively)were present in the lumbar dorsal horn in the SCI+ADSCs and SCI+exercise+ADSCs groups compared with the sham group.Our findings suggest that exercise combined with administration of ADSCs is beneficial for the early recovery of motor function and could partially ameliorate SCIinduced neuropathic pain.

Structure and Morphology of Poly(ε-caprolactone)Heterogeneous Shish-Kebab Structure Induced by Poly(lactic acid)Nanofibers

In recent years,the hybrid shish-kebab structure with excellent physical properties and functionalities has attracted much attention because it provides a way of blending nanofibers with different properties into polymer matrix in a regular arrangement.It is often not easy to induce the formation of the hierarchically ordered structure for the semi-crystalline polymer in heterogeneous shish-kebab structure.A poly(lactic acid)(PLA)/poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL)heterogeneous shish-kebab structure,i.e.,the PCL crystals periodically crystallized onto PLA nanofibers,was successfully created and the interfacial crystal morphology of the PLA/PCL heterogeneous shish-kebab structure was observed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy.NaOH aqueous solution was applied to modify the surface of the PLA nanofibers to produce adsorption sites and carboxyl groups.The total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR)and X-ray diffraction(XRD)results demonstrated that the formation of the heterogeneous shish-kebab structure was mainly due to the hydrogen bonding interaction between the kebab and shish interface,and the growth process of the kebab crystals also promoted the crystallization of the shish fibers.This heterogeneous nanostructure of biodegradable polymers will have great applications in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.