Fig 2: Schematic illustration of this study.PRAT afferent nerves serve as a pathological node of hypertension that sustains high BP via suppressing CGRP, thereby being a potential therapeutic target to tackle primary hypertension.

Fig 3: Sensory nerve-derived Sema3A promotes osteogenesis and angiogenesis in SCS-mediated bone regeneration. (A) Micro-CT analysis of bone regeneration at 12 weeks. 3D reconstructed superficial and interior images of femoral condyle defects in different groups. Scale bar: 4 cm. (B) Quantitative analysis of bone volume/total volume (TV/BV), bone mineral density (BMD) and Trabecular Thickness (Tb.Th) (n = 6). (C) Representative images of immunofluorescence staining of Leptin Receptor and CGRP. (D) Representative images of immunofluorescence staining of CGRP and Emcn. (E) Representative images of immunofluorescence staining of CGRP and CD31. (F) Quantification of CGRP, LepR, Emcn and CD31 median fluorescence intensity (MFI) per field view. Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue). Scale bar: 100 μm. For all charts, data represent means ± standard deviations (n = 6). Groups labeled with different lowercase letters are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Fig 4: The protein expression of TRPV1 and related neuroinflammatory mediators assessed by IHC in control, model and HWJNG-L groups (1–3). (A1-A3, B1-B3) TRPV1; (C1-C3, D1-D3) PAR2; (E1-E3, F1-F3) SP; (G1-G3, H1-H3) CGRP; (I1-I3, J1-J3) Tryptase. Data are presented as mean ± SD (n = 3). ###P <0.001 vs control; ***P <0.001 vs model.

Fig 5: An ASC scaffold with bpV(pic)/PLGA microspheres improves SCI recovery in vivo. (a) Gross appearance of the spinal cord grafted with control, ASC, bpV(pic)/PLGA and the ASC scaffold with bpV(pic)/PLGA microspheres; (b) plot of BBB locomotor scores of the different transplantation groups at different times (from 1 to 6 weeks) post-SCI, n = 6; (c) H&E staining of spinal cords from SCI rats 4 weeks post-surgery from the following experimental conditions: no graft, ASC-only graft, bpV(pic)/PLGA-only graft, or ASC scaffold with bpV(pic)/PLGA graft. Scale bar = 50 µm; (d) representative immunofluorescence images and quantification of the number of p-PTEN (green) and ß-III-tubulin (red) staining in the lesion part of the spinal cords from SCI rats with no graft, ASC-only graft, bpV(pic)/PLGA-only graft or ASC scaffold with bpV(pic)/PLGA graft at 4 weeks post-surgery. n = 6, scale bar = 50 µm; (e) representative immunofluorescence images and quantification of the number of CGRP fibers in the lesion part of spinal cord of SCI rats with different treatments. n = 6, scale bar = 50 µm; (f) TUNEL analysis of the apoptotic cells in the lesion part of the spinal cord of SCI rats with different treatments. n = 6, scale bar = 50 µm; (g) representative immunofluorescence images and quantification of the number of GFAP in the lesion part of the spinal cord of SCI rats with different treatments. C represents the lesion cavity. n = 6, scale bar = 50 µm; *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. All data are shown as mean ± SD.