Transplantation of tL1 NSCs promotes regrowth/sprouting of corticospinal tract (CST) axons.

<p>(<b>A–E</b>) Representative PKC-γ immunostaining images from cross-sections of spinal cord at midthoracic level (6 mm rostral to the lesion site) show localization of CST axons in the ventral part of the dorsal columns of non-injured mice and injured mice transplanted with wt, L1 and tL1 NSCs 6 weeks after injury. The cross-sectional area occupied by CST axons is demarcated by the inset in (<b>A</b>) shown at higher magnification in (<b>B</b>–<b>E</b>). (<b>F</b>) Image J quantification of the dorsal column area at 3, 6 and 9 mm rostral to the lesion site shows an increase in PKC-γ immunoreactivity in mice transplanted with tL1 NSCs compared to mice transplanted with wt NSCs or L1 NSCs. Values represent % PKC-γ immunoreactivity normalized to the immunoreactivity from the dorsal columns of non-injured mice. Five mice were analyzed per group. Shown are mean values with SEM. Asterisks indicate differences between mice transplanted with tL1 NSCs compared to mice transplanted with wt NSCs or L1 NSCs as assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's <i>post-hoc</i> test (* <i>p</i><0.05, ** <i>p</i><0.01). Scale bars = 100 µm (<b>A</b>) and 40 µm (<b>B–E</b>).