Treatment of traumatic brain injury in adult rats with intravenous administration of human bone marrow stromal cells.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated the effect of human bone marrow stromal cells (hMSCs) administered intravenously on functional outcome after traumatic brain injury in adult rats.


METHODS
hMSCs were harvested from three human donors. A controlled cortical impact was delivered to 27 adult male rats to induce traumatic brain injury, and 24 hours after injury, hMSCs were injected into the tail veins of the rats (n = 18). These rats were divided into two groups: Group 1 was administered 1 x 10(6) hMSCs, and Group 2 was administered 2 x 10(6) hMSCs. Group 3 (control) rats received saline intravenously. Neurological function was evaluated according to the rotarod test and modified neurological severity score. All rats were killed 1 month after injury, and immunohistochemical staining was performed on the brain sections to identify donor hMSCs. To study the phenotypic differentiation of hMSCs, coronal brain sections were stained for neuronal (Tuj1) and astrocytic (glial fibrillary acidic protein) markers.


RESULTS
Treatment with 2 x 10(6) hMSCs significantly improved the rats' functional outcomes (P < 0.05). The transplanted cells successfully migrated into injured brain and were preferentially localized around the injury site. Some of the donor cells also expressed the neuronal and astrocytic markers.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that hMSCs may be a potential therapy for patients who have sustained traumatic brain injuries.
Mahmood
Asim
A
Department of Neurosurgery, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA. nsaam@neuro.hfh.edu
Lu
Dunyue
D
Lu
Mei
M
Chopp
Michael
M
D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000637:transplantation*; D013997:Time Factors