Figure 3

Improvement in hind paw positioning and muscle spasticity in SCI animals grafted with HSSC. A: CatWalk gait analysis of hind paw positioning at two months after treatment. In comparison to SCI control animals, a significant improvement was seen in HSSC-grafted animals. B1-B3: An example of paw step images taken from the CatWalk software in naïve (B1), SCI-control (B2) and SCI-HSSC-treated animals (B3). Note a large paw footprint overlap between the front and hind paws in naïve animals (B1) but a substantial dissociation in footprint overlap in SCI controls (B2). An improvement in paw placement in SCI-HSSC-treated animals can be seen (B3). C: Statistical analysis showed significant suppression of spasticity response (expressed as a muscle resistance ratio: values at two months versus seven days post injury in ‘HIGH spasticity’ HSSC-treated animals if compared to ‘HIGH spasticity’ controls). D: To identify the presence of muscle spasticity in fully awake animals, the hind-paw ankle is rotated 40° at a velocity of 80°/second. Spasticity is identified by exacerbated EMG activity measured in the gastrocnemius muscle and corresponding increase in muscle resistance. In control SCI animals with developed spasticity (that is, ‘high spasticity’/HIGH group), no change in spasticity response if compared to seven days post-vehicle injection was seen at two months (compare D1 to D3). In contrast to SCI control animals, a decrease in spasticity response was seen in SCI-HSSC-treated animals at two months after cell injections (compare D4 to D6). To identify mechanical resistance, animals are anesthetized with isoflurane at the end of the recording session and the contribution of mechanical resistance (which is, isoflurane non-sensitive) is calculated. (D2, D5: data expressed as mean ± SEM; one-way ANOVAs). ANOVA, analysis of variance; EMG, electromyography; HSSC, human fetal spinal cord-derived neural stem cells; SCI, spinal cord injury; SEM, standard error of the mean.