TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ashmwe, Mohamed
A1  - Posa, Katja
A1  - Rührnößl, Alexander
A1  - Heinzel, Johannes Christoph
A1  - Heimel, Patrick
A1  - Mock, Michael
A1  - Schädl, Barbara
A1  - Keibl, Claudia
A1  - Couillard-Despres, Sebastien
A1  - Redl, Heinz
A1  - Mittermayr, Rainer
A1  - Hercher, David
T1  - Effects of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy on Functional Recovery and Circulating miR-375 and miR-382-5p after Subacute and Chronic Spinal Cord Contusion Injury in Rats
JF  - Biomedicines
N2  - Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) can stimulate processes to promote regeneration, including cell proliferation and modulation of inflammation. Specific miRNA expression panels have been established to define correlations with regulatory targets within these pathways. This study aims to investigate the influence of low-energy ESWT-applied within the subacute and chronic phase of SCI (spinal cord injury) on recovery in a rat spinal cord contusion model. Outcomes were evaluated by gait analysis, µCT and histological analysis of spinal cords. A panel of serum-derived miRNAs after SCI and after ESWT was investigated to identify injury-, regeneration- and treatment-associated expression patterns. Rats receiving ESWT showed significant improvement in motor function in both a subacute and a chronic experimental setting. This effect was not reflected in changes in morphology, µCT-parameters or histological markers after ESWT. Expression analysis of various miRNAs, however, revealed changes after SCI and ESWT, with increased miR-375, indicating a neuroprotective effect, and decreased miR-382-5p potentially improving neuroplasticity via its regulatory involvement with BDNF. We were able to demonstrate a functional improvement of ESWT-treated animals after SCI in a subacute and chronic setting. Furthermore, the identification of miR-375 and miR-382-5p could potentially provide new targets for therapeutic intervention in future studies.
KW  - Tissue Engineering
KW  - ESWT
KW  - Spinal Cord Injury
Y1  - 
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10071630
VL  - 2022
IS  - 10(7)
SP  - 1630
ER  -