Background: G-CSF has been shown to increase neuronal survival, which may positively influence the spinal cord microenvironment during the course of muscular dystrophies.
Methodology/principal findings: Male MDX mice that were six weeks of age received a left sciatic nerve transection and were treated with intraperitoneal injections of 200 µg/kg/day of G-CSF 7 days before and 7 days after the transection. The axotomy was performed after the cycles of muscular degeneration/regeneration, consistent with previous descriptions of this model of muscular dystrophy. C57BL/10 mice were used as control subjects. Seven days after the surgery, the animals were sacrificed and their lumbar spinal cords were processed for immunohistochemistry (anti-MHC I, anti-Synaptophysin, anti-GFAP and anti-IBA-1) and transmission electron microscopy. MHC I expression increased in both strains of mice after the axotomy. Nevertheless, the MDX mice displayed a significantly smaller MHC I upregulation than the control mice. Regarding GFAP expression, the MDX mice showed a stronger astrogliosis compared with the C57BL/10 mice across all groups. Both groups that were treated with G-CSF demonstrated preservation of synaptophysin expression compared with the untreated and placebo groups. The quantitative analysis of the ultrastructural level showed a preservation of the synaptic covering for the both groups that were treated with G-CSF and the axotomized groups showed a smaller loss of synaptic contact in relation to the treated groups after the lesion.
Conclusions/significance: The reduction of active inputs to the alpha-motoneurons and increased astrogliosis in the axotomized and control groups may be associated with the cycles of muscle degeneration/regeneration that occur postnatally. The G-CSF treated group showed a preservation of the spinal cord microenvironment after the lesion. Moreover, the increase of MHC I expression in the MDX mice that were treated with G-CSF may indicate that this drug performs an active role in regenerative potential after lesions.