Comparison of the therapeutic potential of adult and embryonic neural precursor cells in a rat model of Parkinson disease.
OBJECTIVE
The therapeutic effects of adult and embryonic neural precursor cells (NPCs) were evaluated and their therapeutic potential compared in a rat model of Parkinson disease.


METHODS
Adult NPCs were obtained from the subventricular zone and embryonic NPCs were taken from the ganglionic eminence of 14-day-old embryos. Each NPC type was cultured with epidermal growth factor. The in vitro neuronal differentiation rate of adult NPCs was approximately equivalent to that of embryonic NPCs after two passages. Next, the NPCs were transfected with either green fluorescent protein or glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) by adenoviral infection and transplanted into the striata in a rat model of Parkinson disease (PD) induced by unilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine. An amphetamine-induced rotation test was used to evaluate rat behavioral improvement, and immunohistochemical analysis was performed to compare grafted cell survival, differentiation, and host tissue changes.


RESULTS
The rats with GDNF-transfected NPCs had significantly fewer amphetamine-induced rotations and less histological damage. Except for the proportion of surviving grafted cells, there were no significant differences between adult and embryonic NPCs.


CONCLUSIONS
Adult and embryonic NPCs have a comparable therapeutic potential in a rat model of PD.
Muraoka
Kenichiro
K
Department of Neurosurgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Science, Okayama, Japan. ken-ichi@zj8.so-net.ne.jp
Shingo
Tetsuro
T
Yasuhara
Takao
T
Kameda
Masahiro
M
Yuen
Wen Ji
WJ
Uozumi
Takashi
T
Matsui
Toshihiro
T
Miyoshi
Yasuyuki
Y
Date
Isao
I
D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014162:Transfection
D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins