Therapeutic effect of co-transplantation of neuregulin 1-transfected-Schwann cells and bone marrow stromal cells on spinal cord hemisection syndrome

► Transfection of NRG1 elevates ErbB2 level in SCs. ► NRG1-SCs promote BMSCs to differentiate into neuron-like cells. ► NRG1-SCs-BMSCs transplantion achieved better therapy on spinal cord hemi-section. The aim of this present study is to evaluate the therapeutic effect of co-transplantation of neuregulin-1-transfected-Schwann cells (SCs) and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) on a rat model of spinal cord hemi-section injuries (Brown–Séquard syndrome), which is relevant to human clinical spinal cord injury. Both in vivo and in vitro data we received demonstrated that co-transplantation BMSCs with NRG1-transfected SCs reduced the size of cystic cavities, promoted axonal regeneration and hind limb functional recovery in comparison with SCs or BMSCs transplantation alone or together, and this treatment could provide important insights into potential therapies of spinal cord hemi-section injuries.