Table 2.

Mean total neurite length (μm) and mean soma area (μm²) from cultured DRG cells from spinal-intact animals, 1 and 4 weeks SCI animals, 1 week SCI animals treated with chronic TrkB-Ig₂, and 4 week SCI animals treated with chronic BDNF (0.7 μg/d)

	Spinal intact	SCI 1 week	SCI 1 week + chronic TrkB-Ig2	SCI 4 weeks	SCI 4 weeks + chronic BDNF (0.7 μg/d)
Mean neurite length (μm)	1723.3 ± 140.3	1545.7 ± 153.3*	2307.3 ± 192.7#	1892.9 ± 138.2	2020.4 ± 153.3
Mean soma area (μm2)	1383.0 ± 152.2	1188.2 ± 67.9	976.8 ± 70.1+	1237.4 ± 67.9++	1002.7 ± 39.2

Spinal lesion resulted in a decrease in growth ability as neurites were shorter 1 week after SCI compared with spinal intact rats (*p < 0.05 vs spinal intact). BDNF sequestration potentiated cell growth as cells from 1 week SCI animals treated with TrkB-Ig₂ presented longer neurites, compared with nontreated animals at the same time point (^#p < 0.05 vs SCI 1 week). In what concerns the soma area, DRG neurons from 1 week SCI animals treated with TrkB-Ig₂ had slightly smaller cell bodies compared with nontreated SCI rats at the same time point (⁺p < 0.05 vs SCI 1 week). Four week SCI animals presented an increase of the soma area compared with other experimental groups (⁺⁺p < 0.05 vs remaining groups).