Synergistic actions of olomoucine and bone morphogenetic protein-4 in axonal repair after acute spinal cord contusion

Liang Chen; Jianjun Li; Liang Wu; Mingliang Yang; Feng Gao; Li Yuan

doi:10.4103/1673-5374.143431

Synergistic actions of olomoucine and bone morphogenetic protein-4 in axonal repair after acute spinal cord contusion

Neural Regen Res. 2014 Oct 15;9(20):1830-8. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.143431.

Authors

Liang Chen¹, Jianjun Li², Liang Wu³, Mingliang Yang², Feng Gao¹, Li Yuan⁴

Affiliations

¹ Capital Medical University School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Beijing, China ; Department of Spinal and Neural Function Reconstruction, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China.
² Capital Medical University School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Beijing, China ; Department of Spinal and Neural Function Reconstruction, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China ; Center of Neural Injury and Repair, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China.
³ Rehabilitation Center, Beijing Xiaotangshan Rehabilitation Hospital, Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of General Surgery, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China.

Abstract

To determine whether olomoucine acts synergistically with bone morphogenetic protein-4 in the treatment of spinal cord injury, we established a rat model of acute spinal cord contusion by impacting the spinal cord at the T8 vertebra. We injected a suspension of astrocytes derived from glial-restricted precursor cells exposed to bone morphogenetic protein-4 (GDAs(BMP)) into the spinal cord around the site of the injury, and/or olomoucine intraperitoneally. Olomoucine effectively inhibited astrocyte proliferation and the formation of scar tissue at the injury site, but did not prevent proliferation of GDAs(BMP) or inhibit their effects in reducing the spinal cord lesion cavity. Furthermore, while GDAs(BMP) and olomoucine independently resulted in small improvements in locomotor function in injured rats, combined administration of both treatments had a significantly greater effect on the restoration of motor function. These data indicate that the combined use of olomoucine and GDAs(BMP) creates a better environment for nerve regeneration than the use of either treatment alone, and contributes to spinal cord repair after injury.

Keywords: axonal regeneration; cavity; glial scar; glial-restricted precursor-derived astrocytes; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; olomoucine; spinal cord injury.