TY - JOUR AB - Transplantion of neural stem cells (NSCs) has shown promise for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although the functional mechanisms underlying transplant‑mediated recovery following TBI have yet to be determined, previous studies demonstrated that transplanted NSCs may respond to the release of specific neurotransmitters, and/or the production of factors that promote neuronal growth. Therefore, we hypothesize that the direct transplantation of NSCs into the injured brain enhanced the expression of synaptic protein and regeneration-associated protein, which may be responsible for promoting functional recovery in a rat model of TBI. Our results showed that NSC transplant significantly improved neurological motor function in selected behavioral tests compared to saline control rats. Our data showed that the number of surviving cells engrafted into the rats was 4.1±0.9% of engrafted cells at 8 weeks post‑transplantation, with 11.4±1.6% βⅢ-tubulin-immunopositive cells of these cells. RT-PCR and Western blot analysis demonstrated that the expression of synaptophysin (SYP) and regeneration‑associated protein (GAP43) in the injured brain of NSC-transplanted rats was significantly increased compared to the saline control rats during the experimental period. These data suggest that NSCs transplanted directly into the injured brain are capable of surviving, differentiating into neurons and promoting functional recovery in a rat model of TBI. Engrafted NSCs increase the expression of SYP and GAP43 in the injured brain of NSC-transplanted rats, which is suggested as one of the mechanisms underlying the improved functional recovery on motor behavior due to the transplantation of NSCs following TBI. AD - Department of Histology and Embryology, China Medical University, Heping, Shenyang 110001, P.R. China Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, P.R. China Department of Histology and Embryology, Dalian Medical University, Liaoning 116044, P.R. China AU - Ma,Haiying AU - Yu,Bo AU - Kong,Li AU - Zhang,Yuanyuan AU - Shi,Yuxiu DA - 2011/09/01 DO - 10.3892/mmr.2011.510 EP - 856 IS - 5 JO - Mol Med Rep KW - neural stem cell transplantation traumatic brain injury synaptogenesis PY - 2011 SN - 1791-2997 1791-3004 SP - 849 ST - Transplantation of neural stem cells enhances expression of synaptic protein and promotes functional recovery in a rat model of traumatic brain injury T2 - Molecular Medicine Reports TI - Transplantation of neural stem cells enhances expression of synaptic protein and promotes functional recovery in a rat model of traumatic brain injury UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2011.510 VL - 4 ER -