Footprint Analysis
Objective: Assess functional neurological recovery in injured rats receiving neural precursor cell (NPC) transplants using footprint analysis to evaluate locomotor function
This is a Footprint Analysis protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 5 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 4 materials. Extracted from a 2006 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • adult rats • unknown • adult • not specified
Study window
~8 week study window
Core workflow
Spinal cord injury induction • NPC transplantation - subacute phase • NPC transplantation - chronic phase
Primary readouts
- Footprint patterns and analysis
- Functional neurological recovery
- Locomotor function
- NPC survival in injured spinal cord
Key equipment and reagents
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
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- Verify the animal model, intervention setup, and collection timepoints against the source paper.
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- Jump to Experimental Context for readouts, data shape, and analysis flow before planning downstream analysis.
Protocol Steps
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Spinal cord injury induction
Adult rats received spinal cord injury
Note: Injury was performed prior to NPC transplantation
View evidence from paper
“transplanted adult brain-derived neural precursor cells (NPCs) isolated from yellow fluorescent protein-expressing transgenic mice into the injured spinal cord of adult rats”
NPC transplantation - subacute phase
Transplant adult NPCs into injured spinal cord at 2 weeks after injury (subacute phase)
Note: Represents subacute phase of spinal cord injury
View evidence from paper
“transplanted adult brain-derived neural precursor cells (NPCs) into the injured spinal cord of adult rats at 2 and 8 weeks after injury, which represents the subacute and chronic phases of SCI”
NPC transplantation - chronic phase
Transplant adult NPCs into injured spinal cord at 8 weeks after injury (chronic phase)
Note: Represents chronic phase of spinal cord injury
View evidence from paper
“transplanted adult brain-derived neural precursor cells (NPCs) into the injured spinal cord of adult rats at 2 and 8 weeks after injury, which represents the subacute and chronic phases of SCI”
Administer supportive pharmacological treatment
Administer combination of growth factors, minocycline, and cyclosporine A to enhance NPC survival
Note: Treatment protocol to improve transplanted cell survival
View evidence from paper
“A combination of growth factors, the anti-inflammatory drug minocycline, and cyclosporine A immunosuppression was used to enhance the survival of transplanted adult NPCs”
Footprint analysis assessment
Perform footprint analysis to assess functional neurological recovery and locomotor function in injured rats receiving NPC transplants
Note: Conducted alongside Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Scale and grid-walk analyses
View evidence from paper
“injured rats receiving NPC transplants had improved functional recovery as assessed by the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Scale and grid-walk and footprint analyses”