Biphasic bisperoxovanadium administration and Schwann cell transplantation for repair after cervical contusive spinal cord injury

• Schwann cells (SCs) are a promising candidate for cell therapy after spinal cord injury.
• However, Schwann cells have limitations when used alone.
• Bisperoxovanadium (bpV) compound is a promising neuroprotective agent.
• Combining bpV with SC transplantation enhanced neuroprotection and recovery.

Schwann cells (SCs) hold promise for spinal cord injury (SCI) repair; however, there are limitations for its use as a lone treatment. We showed that acute inhibition of the phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) by bisperoxovanadium (bpV) was neuroprotective and enhanced function following cervical hemicontusion SCI. We hypothesized that combining acute bpV therapy and delayed SC engraftment would further improve neuroprotection and recovery after cervical SCI. Adult female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were randomly sorted into 5 groups: sham, vehicle, bpV, SC transplantation, and bpV + SC transplantation. SCs were isolated from adult green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing SD rats (GFP-SCs). 200 μg/kg bpV(pic) was administered intraperitoneally (IP) twice daily for 7 days post-SCI in bpV-treated groups. GFP-SCs (1 × 106 in 5 μl medium) were transplanted into the lesion epicenter at the 8th day post-SCI. Forelimb function was tested for 10 weeks and histology was assessed. bpV alone significantly reduced lesion (by 40%, p < 0.05) and cavitation (by 65%, p < 0.05) and improved functional recovery (p < 0.05) compared to injury alone. The combination promoted similar neuroprotection (p < 0.01 vs. injury); however, GFP-SCs alone did not. Both SC-transplanted groups exhibited remarkable long-term SC survival, SMI-31+ axon ingrowth and RECA-1+ vasculature presence in the SC graft; however, bpV + SCs promoted an 89% greater axon-to-lesion ratio than SCs only. We concluded that bpV likely contributed largely to the neuroprotective and functional benefits while SCs facilitated considerable host–tissue interaction and modification. The combination of the two shows promise as an attractive strategy to enhance recovery after SCI.