title: Intrathecal spinal progenitor cell transplantation for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
abstract: Injury to, or dysfunction of, the nervous system can lead to spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia, and/or allodynia. It is believed that the number and activity of GABAergic neurons gradually decreases over the dorsal horn. Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) immunocompetence has been demonstrated on spinal progenitor cells (SPCs) cultivated in vitro. The intrathecal implantation of these cultivated progenitor cells may provide a means of alleviating neuropathic pain. Chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve was used to induce chronic neuropathic pain in the hind paw of rats. SPCs (1 x 10(6)) were implanted intrathecally on the third day after the CCI surgery. The behavioral response to thermal hyperalgesia was observed and recorded during the 14 days postsurgery. Various techniques were utilized to trace the progenitor cells, confirm the differentiation, and identify the neurotransmitters involved. GAD immunoactivity was revealed for 65% of the cultivated spinal progenitor cells in our study. We also determined that transplanted cells could survive more than 3 weeks postintrathecal implantation. Significant reductions were demonstrated for responses to thermal stimuli for the CCI rats that had received intrathecal SPC transplantation. A novel intrathecal delivery with SPCs reduced CCI-induced neuropathic pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Ren
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Ping-Ching
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hsun-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Jiin-Tsuey
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Cheng-Yuan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: An-Kuo
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Lin-Cheng
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D017690:Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006930:Hyperalgesia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D059408:Pain Management; D011184:Postoperative Period; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries; D020426:Sciatic Neuropathy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D005968:Glutamate Decarboxylase