Fig. 6: The hindlimb locomotor functional recovery of rats that underwent MN-MSC patch treatment after SCI. | Nature Communications

Fig. 6: The hindlimb locomotor functional recovery of rats that underwent MN-MSC patch treatment after SCI.

From: Porous microneedle patch with sustained delivery of extracellular vesicles mitigates severe spinal cord injury

Fig. 6

a Schematic illustration of hindlimb locomotor joint. b Distribution of BBB scores of rats in six treatment groups at 8 weeks after SCI. c Comparison of weekly BBB scores among rats in the six treatment groups at 8 weeks after SCI. Data are shown as the mean + SEM. Two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test was used for comparisons among multiple groups, and two-tailed paired t tests were used for comparisons between two groups. Control: n = 9, MN: n = 8, Gel-EV: n = 9, Gel-MSC: n = 10, MN-EV: n = 10, MN-MSC: n = 11 independent animals. Total: F = 2.928, p < 0.0001. 4 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p < 0.0001. 5 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p < 0.0001. 4 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p < 0.0001. 5 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p = 0.0001. 6 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p < 0.0001. 7 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p < 0.0001. 8 weeks: MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p < 0.0001. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. d–j Color-coded stick views and angle degree curves from intact (d), control (e), MN (f), Gel-EV (g), Gel-MSC (h), MN-EV (i), and MN-MSC (j) groups. k, l Quantitative analysis of body strike length (k) and weight support (l). One-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post-hoc test was used for comparisons among multiple groups and two-tailed paired t tests were used for comparisons between two groups. n = 3 independent animals. ANOVA for body strike length, Total: F = 9.771, p = 0.0007. Control vs MN, p = 0.0142, MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p = 0.0028. ANOVA for weight support, Total: F = 20.31, p < 0.0001, MN-EV vs MN-MSC, p = 0.0013. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. The violin plot center indicates the median in all planes. Violin range covers 97.5th and 2.5th percentiles; extending whiskers show data distribution and probability density. Violin areas remain constant. Boxplot centerlines signify medians; boxes show first and third quartiles (Q1, Q3); whiskers extend from Q1 − 1.5xIQR to Q3 + 1.5xIQR; outliers lie outside whiskers. m Radar graph quantification of seven behavioral features of rats in the six treatment groups. For more details, see Fig. S10.

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