The present study demonstrated that, the combination of MO and hUCBSCs inhibited astrogliosis. This issue has shown that the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) as a proteolytic enzyme advances functional recovery after SCI by directing the development of a glial scar. Treatment with hUCBSCs after SCI altered the expression of different MMPs in rats. hUCBSCs transplantation in SCI causes upregulation of MMP-2 and therefore reduced the development of the glial scar at the lesion site (Veeravalli et al., 2009). In addition, as mentioned earlier, MO extract can inhibit the pro-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species. These two factors are key mediators of reactive astrogliosis in SCI (Bharne et al., 2013).