Intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells increased axonal signal intensity in the rubrospinal tract in spinal cord injury

TL;DR

Injecting stem cells improved nerve signals in spinal cord injury recovery by enhancing connections in a key nerve pathway.

Contribution

This study shows that mesenchymal stem cells enhance axonal signal intensity in the rubrospinal tract after spinal cord injury.

Findings

MSC infusion increased axonal signal intensity in the rubrospinal tract around the injury site.

Signal enhancement was also observed in rostral and caudal regions of the rubrospinal tract.

The results suggest MSCs facilitate neural circuit reorganization after spinal cord injury.

Abstract

Limited spontaneous recovery occurs after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, current knowledge indicates that multiple forms of axon growth in spared axons can lead to circuit reorganization. Intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) provides functional improvements after SCI with an increased axonal network. In this study, we examined how intravenous infusion of MSCs facilitates axonal connections in the rubrospinal tract (RST), one of the significant descending tracts, using AAV neuronal tracing techniques. Our finding demonstrated that infused MSCs significantly enhanced axonal signal intensity in the RST, not only around the injury site but also in the rostral and caudal regions, suggesting that neural circuit reorganization is facilitated.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13041-025-01210-0.

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