Student Competition (Knowledge Generation) ID 1987946: Subcommissural organ-derived peptide enhances tissue preservation and promotes functional recovery in a rat cervical traumatic spinal cord injury model

Background/ObjectivesNX210c is a 12-amino acid peptide derived from conserved thrombospondin type 1 repeat sequences in the subcommissural organ-spondin, which has a unique multifunctional mechanism of action to ameliorate outcomes following neurological injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of NX210c to promote functional recovery and tissue repair in a cervical traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) model.Methods/OverviewAdult female Wistar rats were subjected to a C6/C7 clip compression-contusion injury and treated once daily with intraperitoneal injections of NX210c (8 mg/kg) or its vehicle for 8 weeks, beginning 4 hours (h) or 8h post-injury (n=16-17/group), with concurrent neurobehavioural tests.ResultsEarlier NX210c administration at 4h increased forelimb grip strength (p