Fig. 5

Transplantation of diPSC-NPCs enhanced the functional recovery and prevented the atrophy caused by spinal cord injury. a Basso Mouse Scale (BMS) scores showed a significant functional recovery of hindlimbs in the diPSC-NPC-transplanted group. b Footprint analysis showed that the diPSC-NPC-transplanted mice displayed better walking performance (plantar stepping, blue asterisk) than the control group. To obtain statistically reliable data, we strictly followed the standard protocol of each behavioral test and tried to include many animals per group (PBS group: n = 14, diPSC-NPC group: n = 20). c The lengths of base, stride, and stance were also significantly increased in the diPSC-NPC-transplanted group compared with the control group. d Longitudinal sections of the spinal cord isolated from PBS (control)- or diPSC-NPC-injected mice were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. e Tissue density of the spinal cord near the injury epicenter was measured by using National Institutes of Health Image J software. f The cross-sectional area of the spinal cord spanning 1.6 mm in the anterior-posterior axis with the injury epicenter in the middle was examined for tissue density. *P < 0.05. Data are presented as the mean ± standard error of the mean. diPSC disc cell-derived induced pluripotent stem cell, iPSC induced pluripotent stem cell, NPC neural precursor cell, PBS phosphate-buffered saline, SCI spinal cord injury