Fig. 5: NPC grafted into SCI generate astroglia that reduce fibrotic scar and bridge lesions.

a Schematic summarizing experimental approach for evaluating NPC grafting in mouse spinal cord injury (SCI). b Survey IHC images of SCI lesions at 2 weeks comparing effect of hydrogel alone or grafted HA-positive NPC on SCI phenotype. NPC grafted lesions show Gfap-positive bridges with reduced Cd13-positive tissue in lesion cores. c Gfap intensity plots and quantification of total Gfap via an area under the curve (AUC) calculation of Gfap Intensity within defined regions at SCI lesion cores at 2 weeks showing increased Gfap at lesion cores with NPC grafts. d Cd13 intensity plots and quantification of total Cd13 via an area under the curve (AUC) calculation of Cd13 Intensity within defined regions at SCI lesion cores at 2 weeks showing decreased Cd13 at lesion cores with NPC grafts. For both c, d, N = 6 for SCI only, N = 5 for gel, N = 6 NPC graft, ***p value < 0.0005, **p value < 0.006, *p value < 0.05. Two-way ANOVA with Tukey multiple comparison test. Gfap and Cd13 intensity plots show mean as darken lines and SEM as shaded area. AUC graphs are mean ± s.e.m. e Survey IHC images of NPC grafted SCI lesions at 2 weeks in GFAP-TK mice showing contribution of grafted NPC to the Gfap-positive tissue at the lesion core. AU arbitrary units.