A AB BS ST TR RA AC CT T O Ob bj je ec ct ti iv ve e: : We tested the hypothesis that embryonic neural stem cell (ENSC) therapy reduces neuronal DNA damage in the lesional spinal cord (SC) region and assessed the significance of some DNA breakdown products in urine and tissue samples as biomarkers of efficiency of the ENSC therapy. M Ma at te er ri ia al l a an nd d M Me et th ho od ds s: : DNA damage was measured by single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE/Comet Assay) in spinal cord tissue of rats 7 (acute group) and 28 (chronic group) days after surgical resections of a 10 mm segment of the cord below T8-T9 and sham operations. As biomarkers of DNA damage, urinary 5-(hydroxymethyl) uracil (5HMU) and 2'-deoxyuridine (2dU) were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ED). R Re es su ul lt ts s: : Comet scores of the lesioned tissues were significantly higher in the acute and chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) compared to the sham operated groups (p=0.009 and p=0.009, respectively). After the ENSC transplantation, tail %, tail length and tail moment (T%, TL and TM, respectively) decreased in acute (p=0.009, p=0.009 and p=0.009, respectively) and chronically (p=0.009, p=0.009, p=0.009 respectively) injured rats. 5HMU and 2dU were significantly higher in the acute and the chronic groups than in the sham operated groups (p=0.009 and p=0.009, respectively). 5HMU concentration in the acute SCI group had a stronger correlation strongly with tail moment (r=0.9039, p=0.02). In the chronic injury group, 5HMU and 2dU concentrations correlated significantly with tail length (r=0.9990, p=0.001 and r=0.9272, p=0.016, respectively). While 5HMU seems to be a better biomarker for acute injury, both HMU and 2dU excretions increase in chronic damage. Besides, neurological functions of all the study animals were measured with the Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) score. C Co on nc cl lu us si io on n: : Our results demonstrated that ENSC therapy of the lesioned tissue significantly decreased the levels of DNA breakdown products in urine and tissue samples of rats with acute and chronic SCI. Assessment of neurological recovery with the BBB test confirmed these findings. K Ke ey y W Wo or rd ds s: : Spinal cord injuries; comet assay; chromatography, high pressure liquid; 2'-deoxyuridylic acid; 5 hydroxymethyluracil Ö ÖZ ZE ET T A Am ma aç ç: : Embriyonik nöral kök hücre (ENKH) tedavisinin bozulan omurilik bölgesinde sinirsel DNA hasarını azalttığı hipotezini test ettik ve ENKH tedavisinin etkinliğini yansıtmak üzere idrar ve doku örneklerinde bazı DNA yıkım ürünlerinin önemini değerlendirdik. G Ge er re eç ç v ve e Y Yö ön nt te em ml le er r: : DNA hasar düzeyleri, 7 (akut grup) ve 28 (kronik grup) günlük travmalı sıçanların ve kontrol sıçanlarının T8-T9 omurilik bölgesinin cerrahi rezeksiyonu ile elde edilen 10 mm'lik bir segment dokusunda tek hücre jel elektroforez tekniği (THJE/Comet Testi) kullanılmak suretiyle öl-çüldü. İdrarda DNA hasarının biyolojik göstergeleri olarak, 5-hidroksimeti...