Nerve growth factor improves functional recovery by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced neuronal apoptosis in rats with spinal cord injury.

Background Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced apoptosis plays a major role in various diseases, including spinal cord injury (SCI). Nerve growth factor (NGF) show neuroprotective effect and improve the recovery of SCI, but the relations of ER stress-induced apoptosis and the NGF therapeutic effect in SCI still unclear.