Time Course of Spinal Doublecortin Expression in Developing Rat and Porcine Spinal Cord: Implication in In Vivo Neural Precursor Grafting Studies

Cell Mol Neurobiol, 2015 · DOI: 10.1007/s10571-014-0145-7 · Published: December 9, 2014

Simple Explanation

This study examines the expression of doublecortin (DCX), a protein marker for immature neurons, in the spinal cords of developing rats and pigs. Understanding when and where DCX appears is crucial for accurately tracking transplanted neurons in spinal cord injury studies. The research maps out the timing of DCX expression in both rat and pig spinal cords before and after birth. They also looked at how DCX is expressed in transplanted stem cell-derived neurons in the spinal cords of these animals. The findings help researchers distinguish between the DCX protein in the host animal's spinal cord and the DCX protein in the transplanted neurons. This distinction is important for assessing the survival and integration of transplanted cells.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

8 pregnant minipig females, adult minipigs (n=3), pregnant Wistar rat dams/adult rats, immunodeficient rats, immunosuppressed minipigs

Evidence Level

Original Research

Key Findings

1
DCX expression in rat spinal cord continues for the first 21 postnatal days, while in newborn piglets, no DCX expression was observed.
2
GFAP expression, a marker for astrocytes, starts earlier in miniature pig spinal cord development (around 70-80th fetal day) compared to rodents, suggesting earlier CNS maturation.
3
Spinally grafted porcine iPS-NSCs and human ES-NSCs showed clear DCX expression at 3–4 weeks post-grafting, useful for identifying grafted neurons in models employing postnatal or adult porcine models.

Research Summary

This study characterized the time course of DCX and GFAP expression in developing rat and porcine spinal cord. In contrast to rats, which display continuing spinal neuronal expression of DCX for the ﬁrst 21 postnatal days, no DCX expression was seen in newborn piglets. This data indicates that in spinal grafting studies which employ a postnatal or adult porcine model, the expression of DCX can be used as a reliable marker of grafted neurons of rodent, human or even pig origin.

Practical Implications

Improved Cell Tracking

Provides a baseline understanding of DCX expression in rat and pig spinal cord development, improving the ability to track transplanted cells.

Refined Transplant Strategies

Highlights the importance of using additional markers or cell-specific labeling techniques when analyzing grafted neurons in rat spinal cord during the first 4 postnatal weeks to differentiate them from host neurons.

Model Selection

Suggests that adult porcine models may be more reliable for spinal grafting studies using DCX as a marker due to the absence of endogenous DCX expression.

Study Limitations

1
The study focuses on specific rat and minipig strains; results may not be generalizable to other species.
2
The mechanisms regulating DCX and GFAP expression during spinal cord development are not fully elucidated.
3
The long-term effects of DCX expression in spinally grafted NSCs were not investigated.

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