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Objective Changes ofneurotrophin-3 (NT-3) expression in rat red nucleus following complete spinal cord transection have been studied in order to provide the experimental evidences for the mechanisms of regeneration and repair after spinal cord injury and for neurotrophins to treat spinal cord injury.Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 240-260 g were divided into three groups at random: (1) Spinal cord transection group which was randomly subdivided into four subgroups according to the survival time at the day 1, 3, 7 and 14 d after operation (n=6 for each time point), in which the spinal cord of rat was transected completely at thoracic level 10-11.(2) Sham operation group (laminectomy only, n=6).(3) Normal control group (n=6).The expression of NT-3 in red nucleus was examined by immunohistochemistry and image analysis.Results NT-3 immunoreactive cells were found in red nucleus in both control and experimental groups.After operation, the expression of NT-3 increased gradually and reached the peak at the day 7 in red nucleus.Our data reveal the profile of NT-3 expression in red nucleus after complete spinal cord transection at thoracic level.Conclusion The results suggest that the demand of NT-3 increases in red nucleus after spinal cord injury and the increase of endogenous NT-3 may be beneficial for the survival and regeneration of the injured rubrospinal neurons.