The disabling and overwhelming condition known as spinal cord injury (SCI) is accompanied by intricate inflammation-related pathological processes like the release of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) into the extracellular microenvironment and widespread apoptosis of neuron, glial, and oligodendroctyl cells by infiltrating inflammatory immune cells. For the purpose of encapsulating bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), a thioketal-containing and ROS-scavenging hydrogel was made in this study. This hydrogel promoted neurogenesis and axon regeneration by scavenging the overproduced ROS and re-building a regenerative microenvironment. By reducing the production of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS), attenuating ROS-mediated oxidative damage, and downregulating inflammatory cytokines like interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-), the hydrogel was able to effectively encapsulate BMSCs and played a remarkable role in vivo as a neuroprotective agent. The motor functional recovery of SCI rats was significantly enhanced by the ROS-scavenging hydrogel that was encapsulated in BMSCs. It also reduced the formation of scars and enhanced the neurogenesis of the spinal cord tissue. A combinational strategy against ROS-mediated oxidative stress is provided by our work, which has the potential to be utilized not only in SCI but also in other diseases of the central nervous system that share similar pathological conditions.
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International Journal of Neurorehabilitation received 1078 citations as per Google Scholar report
