Evaluation of regular treadmill exercise plan combined with electrospun scaffolds loaded with green tea extract and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells for spinal cord injury repair in a rat model

Abstract Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) continue to pose a significant challenge in regenerative medicine and neuroscience, inflicting severe consequences on affected individuals. This study aims to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of sports medicine along with gelatin electrospun scaffolds loaded with green tea extract (GTE) and seeded with bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) for SCI repair in a rat model. The electrospun scaffolds were fabricated from GTE-loaded polycaprolactone/gelatin polymeric solution. BM-MSCs were then seeded onto the scaffolds, which were implanted into rat models of SCI. The animals then underwent daily treadmill exercise. Histological analysis and functional assessments were conducted to evaluate the extent of spinal cord repair and functional recovery. The study showed that the hybrid treatment strategy augmented SCI “repair” and restored tissue function. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay results showed that our method upregulated tissue expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor and decreased the tissue expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta.