Fig. 4.
Cell cycle inhibition increases white matter sparring, reduces lesion volume, and favors functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). (a) A series of representative eriochrome stained tissue sections from CR8- or saline-treated rats at the epicenter and rostral (R1–R5) and caudal (C1–C5) to the injury epicenter (Epi). Eriochrome stains myelinated areas of spared white matter. (b) Quantification of the total white matter area (mm2) in stained tissue sections from CR8-treated (n = 10) and saline-treated rats (n = 8). (c) The lesion volumes of CR8-treated rats (9.63 ± 0.37 mm3, n = 10) are significantly smaller compared with saline-treated rats (15.40 ± 2.00 mm3, n = 8) at 5 weeks after SCI. (d) Representative histologically stained tissue sections at 1 mm rostral to the epicenter from a sham rat and from injured saline- or CR8-treated rats. The SCI lesion is visible as a region with absence of glial fibrillary acidic protein/diaminobenzidine staining than the surrounding tissue. Scale bars = 500 μm. (e, f) Neurological outcome was also evaluated using the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) score of hind limb locomotor function and the combined behavioral score (CBS), an evaluation of overall hind limb sensory-motor deficits. Both BBB and CBS tests showed significantly improved functional recovery in CR8-treated rats (n = 15) compared with saline-treated rats (n = 13). *p < 0.05 compared with saline-treated group