Locomotor Function Assessment
Objective: Measurement of locomotor recovery and functional outcomes following spinal cord injury and treatment with neural stem cell transplantation and treadmill training
This is a Locomotor Function Assessment protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 7 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 4 materials. Extracted from a 2014 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • Not specified in provided text • unknown • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Study window
~9 week study window
Core workflow
Spinal cord injury induction • Neural stem cell transplantation • Treadmill locomotor training
Primary readouts
- Locomotor function recovery
- Neural stem cell graft survival (measured at 3 and 9 weeks)
- Correlation between NSC survival and locomotor recovery
- Cellular stress markers (reactive nitrogen and oxygen species)
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Spinal cord injury induction
Create contusive spinal cord injury in rats
Note: Contusive injury model used as baseline for treatment groups
View evidence from paper
“rat contusive injury model”
Neural stem cell transplantation
Transplant neural stem cells obtained at embryonic day 14 into the injured spinal cord
Note: Timing is critical - performed at 1 week post-injury
View evidence from paper
“Combination of TMT with NSC TP at 1 week after injury synergistically improved locomotor function”
Treadmill locomotor training
Implement treadmill training protocol in combination with NSC transplantation
Note: Combined with NSC transplantation at 1 week post-injury
View evidence from paper
“Combination of TMT with NSC TP at 1 week after injury synergistically improved locomotor function”
Locomotor function assessment
Measure locomotor recovery and functional outcomes following treatment
Note: Multiple timepoints used to track recovery progression
View evidence from paper
“combining TMT increased the survival of grafted NSCs by >3-fold and >5-fold at 3 and 9 weeks after injury”
Cerebrospinal fluid collection
Collect CSF to measure insulin-like growth factor-1 concentration
Note: Used to determine IGF-1 levels in response to treadmill training
View evidence from paper
“TMT increased the concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the CSF”
Intrathecal antibody infusion
Administer neutralizing antibodies against IGF-1, BDNF, or NT-3 via intrathecal route
Note: Used to determine which growth factor mediates NSC survival enhancement by TMT
View evidence from paper
“Intrathecal infusion of neutralizing IGF-1 antibodies, but not antibodies against either BDNF or Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), abolished the enhanced survival of NSC grafts by TMT”
Tissue analysis
Analyze spinal cord tissue for NSC survival, myelination, and serotonergic fiber innervation
Note: Assessed at 3 and 9 weeks post-injury to correlate with functional recovery
View evidence from paper
“The combination of TP and TMT also resulted in tissue sparing, increased myelination, and restoration of serotonergic fiber innervation to the lumbar spinal cord”