Background: Studies have shown that the development of a properly controlled autoreactive T cell response can serve as a therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury (SCI). Thus, vaccination with mature dendritic cells (DCs) pulsed with central nervous system (CNS) antigens that can prime autoreactive T cells have the potential for treating SCI.
Materials and methods: Mature DCs pulsed with spinal cord homogenate (SCH), nonpulsed mature DC or phosphate-buffer solution (PBS) were injected into spinal cord-injured mice peritoneally. The functional recovery of spinal cord was measured by Basso mouse scale and footprint analysis. Spinal cord specimen was preserved for immunohistochemical staining to detect T cell infiltration, differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells, and tissue preservation. RT-PCR and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the expression of cytokines and neurotrophic factors.
Results: Vaccination with DCs pulsed with SCH promoted pronounced functional recovery from SCI. The neuroprotection induced by SCH-pulsed DCs (SCH-DC) correlated to the accumulation of CD4(+) T cells in the lesion site. SCH-DC markedly affected the production of interferon-γ, interleukin-12, and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor. SCH-DC also promoted expression of neurotrophic factors in the injured spinal cord and spleen cells. Furthermore, vaccination with SCH-DC enhanced neuronal differentiation of neural stem/progenitor cells, and it led to better tissue preservation.
Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that DC-mediated immune regulation may be a potential therapeutic approach aimed at shifting the balance between immune and nerve cells in order to treat SCI.
Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.