Subdural engraftment of serotonergic neurons following spinal hemisection restores spinal serotonin, downregulates serotonin transporter, and increases BDNF tissue content in rat

Spinal hemisection injury at T13 results in development of permanent mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia due to interruption and subsequent loss of descending inhibitory modulators such as serotonin (5-HT) and its transporter (5-HT T). We hypothesize that lumbar transplantation of non-mitotic cells that tonically secrete 5-HT and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) will restore alterations in 5-HT and 5-HT T systems within the spinal dorsal horn. We used an immortalized rat neuronal cell line derived from E13 raphe (RN46A-B14) which is shown to secrete 5-HT and BDNF in vitro and in vivo. Three groups ( n=35) of 30 day old male Sprague–Dawley rats were spinally hemisected at T13 and 28 days later received either lumbar RN46A-V1 control empty-vector ( n=15) or RN46A-B14 ( n=15) intrathecal grafts, or no transplant. Twenty-eight days following transplantation, animals were perfused and tissue examined for changes in 5-HT, 5-HT T, and BDNF at the site of transplantation or at lumbar enlargements (L5). Immunohistochemistry revealed that RN46A-B14, but not RN46A-V1 cells, increased 5-HT tissue staining at L5 in the dorsal white matter as well as in superficial dorsal horn laminae I and II on both ipsilateral and contralateral sides, results confirmed by ELISA. Transplantation of RN46A-B14 cells significantly reduced ipsilateral 5-HT T, upregulated after injury. Significantly increased levels of BDNF were also observed after RN46A-B14 transplantation but were not localized to particular spinal laminae. These results are consistent with recovery of locomotor function and reductions in chronic pain behaviors observed behaviorally after RN46A-B14 transplantation and supports the pragmatic application of cell-based therapies in correcting damaged circuitry after spinal cord injury.