With technological advances in basic research, the intricate mechanism of secondary delayed spinal cord injury (SCI) continues to unravel at a rapid pace. However, despite our deeper understanding of the molecular changes occurring after initial insult to the spinal cord, the cure for paralysis remains elusive. Current treatment of SCI is limited to early administration of high dose steroids to mitigate the harmful effect of cord edema that occurs after SCI and to reduce the cascade of secondary delayed SCI. R ecent evident-based clinical studies have cast doubt on the clinical benefit of steroids in SCI and intense focus on stem cell-based therapy has yielded some encouraging results. An array of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from various sources with novel and promising strategies are being developed to improve function after SCI. In this review, we briefly discuss the pathophysiology of spinal cord injuries and characteristics and the potential sources of MSCs that can be used in the treatment of SCI. We will discuss the progress of MSCs application in research, focusing on the neuroprotective properties of MSCs. Finally, we will discuss the results from preclinical and clinical trials involving stem cell-based therapy in SCI. Core tip: Despite our deeper understanding of the molecular changes that occurs after the spinal cord injury (SCI), the cure for paralysis remains elusive. In this review, the pathophysiology of SCI and characteristics and potential sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) that can be used in the treatment of SCI were discussed. We also discussed the progress of application of MSCs in research focusing on the neuroprotective properties of MSCs. Finally, we discussed the results from preclinical and clinical trials involving stem cell-based therapy in SCI.

SUMMARY Oxytocin is a hormone with various actions. Oxytocin-containing parvocellular neurons project to the brainstem and spinal cord. Oxytocin release from these neurons suppresses nociception of inflammatory pain, the molecular mechanism of which remains unclear. Here, we report that the noxious stimulus receptor, TRPV1, is an ionotropic oxytocin receptor. Oxytocin elicits TRPV1 activity in native and heterologous expression systems, irrespective of the presence of the classical oxytocin receptor. In TRPV1 knockout mice, DRG neurons exhibit reduced oxytocin sensitivity relative to controls, and oxytocin injections significantly attenuate capsaicin-induced nociception in in vivo experiments. Furthermore, oxytocin potentiates TRPV1 in planar lipid bilayers, supporting a direct agonistic action. Molecular modeling and simulation experiments provide insight into oxytocin-TRPV1 interactions, which resemble RTX/DkTx. Together our findings suggest the existence of endogenous regulatory pathways that modulate nociception via direct action of oxytocin on TRPV1, implying its analgesic effect via channel desensitization.

It has been suggested that the beneficial effects of reperfusing the myocardium might be in part reversed by the occurrence of reperfusion injury. Oxidative stress was suggested to be implicating in the pathogenesis of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Many antioxidative plants were shown to be cardioprotective in experimental models of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of pretreatment with alcoholic extract of Tinospora cordifolia in an in vivo rat model. The model adopted was that of surgically-induced myocardial ischemia, performed by means of left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion (LAD) for 30 min followed by reperfusion for another 4 h. Infarct size was measured by using the staining agent TTC (2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride). Lipid peroxide levels in serum and in heart tissue were estimated spectrophotometrically by the methods developed by Yagi and Ohkawa et al. respectively. A lead II electrocardiogram was monitored at various intervals throughout the experiment. A dose dependent reduction in infarct size and in lipid peroxide levels of serum and heart tissue were observed with the prior treatment of T. cordifolia with various doses for 7 d compared to control animals. Hence, the present study suggests the cardioprotective activity of T. cordifolia in limiting ischemia-reperfusion induced myocardial infarction.