[Posttraumatic changes of rat spinal cord after transplantation of human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells transfected with VEGF and FGF2 genes].

Using the model of the rat spinal cord dosed contusion injury at T8 level, cross sectional area of the pathological cavities was measured and the number of myelinated nerve fibers was calculated in the outer zones of white matter after immediate single injection in the damaged area of human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (UCB-MC) transfected with plasmid with vegf and fgf2 genes. UCB-MC transfected with pEGFP-N2 plasmid with egfp gene of enhanced green fluorescent protein were injected into the rats of control group under similar conditions. By Day 30 after the injection of UCB-MC transfected with vegf and fgf2 genes, total cross-sectional area of the cavities in outer zones of white matter at a distance of 3 mm caudally from the epicenter of the injury was reduced more than twice as compared with that found in control group. Number of myelinated nerve fibers in the same zones of white matter at the same distance from the epicentre in rostral and caudal directions, was increased by 20% on the average as compared with control, and at a distance of 5 mm in rostral direction--by 40 to 70%. Thus, the delivery to the injury region of the therapeutic genes vegf and fgf2 reduced cavitation, restrained the processes of secondary degeneration and supported the number of myelinated fibers in the injured spinal cord.