Several transplantation strategies have made some advance in promoting axonal regeneration and partial functional recovery in animal models of spinal cord injury and in some clinical trials.This article reviews the transplants used in recent laboratory studies and phase 1 clinical trials,introduces their application condition and mechanism of action,etc.

Disc degeneration is a substantial clinical problem. Disc degeneration begins with a loss of disc cells and alterations in the extracellular matrix of the nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Recently, as the molecular basis of disc degeneration becomes increasingly understood, various biologic strategies to repair or regenerate the degenerative disc have been suggested. One promising approach for this problem involves the use of tissue engineering to regenerate the degenerative disc for achieving functional tissue repair. The authors reviewed the main progress of the NP tissue engineering from cells, scaffolds, growth factor.

Objective To explore the changes of rabbit adipose stem cells(ASCs)and bone mesenchymal stem cells(BMSCs)cultured in vitro and the anabolism under basic fibroblast growth factor(bFGF).Methods BMSCs and ASCs were cultured with DMEM,DMEM/F12(2∶1)or α-MEM respectively.The 3rd generation ASCs and BMSCs were divided into 2 groups respectively:group A:ASCs cultured in chondrogenic medium(CM),group B:ASCs cultured in CM supplemented with bFGF 5 ng/ml,group C:BMSCs cultured in CM,group D:BMSCs cultured in CM supplemented with bFGF 5 ng/ml.Morphological changes were observed under inverted microscope.The 35SO42-incorporation and total hydroxyproline were measured.Results BMSCs and ASCs showed much higher growth rate when cultured in α-MEM medium comparison with that in DMEM or in DMEM/F12(2:1).Both stem cells attachment cultured in monolayer greatly increased and cell clones were abundant,while the cells attachment became rather difficult and cell clones were less after cutured in CM.All stem cells possessed a round-like morphology,and the cells in group B and D were more than that in the other 2 groups.The 35SO42-incorporation and total hydroxyproline synthesis of group B or D increased compared with that of group A or C,but there was no diference between group D and B.Conclusion The rabbit ASCs and BMSCs cultured in CM suppling with bFGF grow well and their metabolism increased.