The Role of Human Neural Stem Cell Secretomes on the Repair of Spinal Cord Injury Post-laminectomy in Rattus norvegicus Through the Analysis of Basso–Beattie–Bresnahan Score Locomotors, Interleukin-10, Matrix Metalloproteinase 9, and Transforming Growth Factor-β

Study Design Experimental animal study. Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of treatment with human neural stem cell (HNSC) secretomes on subacute spinal cord injury (SCI) post-laminectomy by analyzing interleukin-10 (IL-10), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and Basso–Beattie–Bresnahan (BBB) score locomotors as expressions of neurological recovery. Overview of Literature In the United States, SCI has a recovery rate of 0.08%, tetraplegia 58.7%, and paraplegia 40.6%. Therapeutic approaches to SCI have focused on modulating the secondary cascade to prevent neurological deterioration and glial scar formation. Increasing evidence has shown that the success of cell-based SCI therapy is attributed to the secretomes rather than the cells themselves, but the effect of treatment with HNSC secretomes in SCI is unclear. Methods This experimental study investigated 15 Rattus norvegicus rats that were divided into three groups: (1) normal, (2) SCI+non-secretome, and (3) SCI+secretome (30 μL, intrathecal Th10). Model subacute SCI post-laminectomy was performed in 60 seconds using an aneurysm Yasargil clip with a closing forceps weighing 65 g (150 kdyn). At 35 days post-injury, the specimens were collected, and the immunohistochemicals of IL-10, MMP9, and TGF-β were analyzed. Motor recovery was evaluated based on the BBB scores. Results The SCI post-laminectomy of rats treated with HNSC secretomes showed improvements in their locomotor recovery based on the BBB scores (p=0.000, mean=18.4) and decreased MMP9 (p=0.015) but had increased the levels of IL-10 (p=0.045) and TGF-β (p=0.01). Conclusions These results indicate that the factors associated with the HNSC secretomes can mitigate their pathophysiological processes of secondary damage after SCI and improve the locomotor functional outcomes in rats.