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The regeneration of nerve tissue after spinal cord injury is a complex and poorly understood process. Medication and surgery are not very effective treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries. Gene therapy is a popular approach for the treatment of such patients. The delivery of therapeutic genes is carried out in a variety of ways, such as direct injection of therapeutic vectors at the site of injury, retrograde delivery of vectors, and ex vivo therapy using various cells. Recombinant adenoviruses are often used as vectors for gene transfer. This review discusses the advantages, limitations and prospects of adenovectors in spinal cord injury therapy.

The regeneration of nerve tissue after spinal cord injury is a complex and poorly understood process. Medication and surgery are not very effective treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries. Gene therapy is a popular approach for the treatment of such patients. The delivery of therapeutic genes is carried out in a variety of ways, such as direct injection of therapeutic vectors at the site of injury, retrograde delivery of vectors, and ex vivo therapy using various cells. Recombinant adenoviruses are often used as vectors for gene transfer. This review discusses the advantages, limitations and prospects of adenovectors in spinal cord injury therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of transplanted Glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) modified marrow stromal cells (MSCs) on an experimental ischemic brain injury based on the behavioral, morphological and immunohistochemical observations. Methods: The MSCs from newborn rats were cultured in vitro. The cerebral ischemia and reperfusion model was established in rats by using the suture method. 3 days after model establishment, the animals were injected with prepared MSCs via their caudal veins. The animals were then divided into a sham-operation group, ischemia group, MSCs transplantation group or GDNF+MSCs transplantation group and were scored for their neurobehavioral manifestations at 3, 14 and 28 days after the transplantation was performed. At this time, the survival condition of intracerebral transplanted cells was measured by laser confocal microscopy while the effect of transplantation on the GDBF expression in the ischemic brain tissue was evaluated. Results: The MSCs cells transfected with GDNF gene were characterized by green fluorescence. 3 days after the transplantation, the animals that underwent the cell transplantation showed significantly better behavioral data than the controls. 14 days after transplantation, the animals transplanted with GDNF gene modified MSCs were better than those transplanted with common MSCs. As compared with common MSCs transplantation, GDNF+MSCs transplantation was significantly more effective in reducing apoptotic cell volume and enhancing Bcl-2 expression, which was favorable for the ischemic brain injury. Conclusions: Transplanted GDNF modified MSCs can improve the nervous function and have a protective effect on the ischemic brain injury through reducing apoptotic cell volume and enhancing the expression of antiapoptotic gene Bcl-2.

Background: Nerve injury-related erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of the types that respond poorly to conventional ED treatments. Our previous experiments have demonstrated the paracrine of various neurotrophic factors (NTFs) by stem cells or other treatment modalities as a potential mechanism in the recovery of nerve injury-related ED. Glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is one of the essential NTFs for the regeneration of nerve fibers, especially for parasympathetic nerves. The aim of this study is to explore if local continuous GDNF administration is beneficial for the functional and histological recovery of nerve injury induced ED., Methods: Eight-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for this study. Rats were randomly grouped into 5: Sham surgery (Sham), bilateral cavernous nerve injury (BCNI) and placebo treatment, BCNI and 0.1 µg/100 µL GDNF treatment (BCNI+GDNF 0.1), BCNI and 1 µg/100 µL GDNF treatment (BCNI+GDNF 1), BCNI and 10 µg/100 µL GDNF treatment (BCNI+GDNF 10). GDNF was administered using an osmotic pump technique which would deliver GDNF locally and continuously for 28 days without the need for external connections or frequent handling of animals. Recovery of sexual function, nerve fibers regeneration, and expression of neurotrophic receptors were examined and compared among groups after the treatment., Results: Local continuous GDNF release treatment increased the average number of intromissions in the sexual behavior test and intracavernous pressure (ICP) in the erectile function test in a dose dependent manner. Osmotic pump implantation induced increased local GDNF concentration and mild inflammatory response. Gene expression of GDNF receptors in major pelvic ganglion (MPG) and nerve regeneration along the urethra were partially promoted by GDNF. These changes were associated with increased nerve fibers especially the parasympathetic nerve fibers in dorsal nerve of penis (DNP) in GDNF treated groups., Conclusions: In conclusion, our project illustrated the promising effects of local continuous GDNF administration for the functional and histological recovery of nerve injury-induced ED., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tau-20-1110). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Translational Andrology and Urology. All rights reserved.)