Repair of spinal cord injury by co-transplantation of embryonic stem cell-derived motor neuron and olfactory ensheathing cell.
The failure of regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) has been attributed to axonal demyelination and neuronal death. Cellular replacement and white matter regeneration are both necessary for SCI repair. In this study, we evaluated the co-transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) and embryonic stem (ES) cell-derived motor neurons (ESMN) on contused SCI.



OEC cultured from olfactory nerve rootlets and olfactory bulbs. ESMN was generated by exposing mouse ES cells to retinoic acid and sonic hedgehog. Thirty female rats were used to prepare SCI models in five groups. Control and medium-injected groups was subjected to induce lesion without cell transplantation. OEC or ESMN or both were transplanted into the site of the lesion in other groups.



The purity of OEC culture was 95%. Motor neuron progenitor markers (Olig2, Nkx6.1 and Pax6) and motor neuron markers (Isl1, Isl2 and Hb9) were expressed. Histological analysis showed that significantly more (P<0.001) spinal tissue was spared in OEC, ESMN and OEC+ ESMN groups but the OEC+ ESMN group had a significantly greater percentage of spared tissue and myelination than other groups (P< 0.05). The numbers of ESMN in co-transplanted group were significantly higher than ESMN group (P<0.05). A significant (P<0.05) recovery of hindlimb function was observed in rats in the transplanted groups.



We found that the co-transplantation of ESMN and OEC into an injured spinal cord has a synergistic effect, promoting neural regeneration, ESMN survival and partial functional recovery.
Salehi
Mohammad
M
Dept. of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Pasbakhsh
Parichehr
P
Dept. of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Soleimani
Masoud
M
Dept. of Hematology, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
Abbasi
Mehdi
M
Dept. of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hasanzadeh
Gholamreza
G
Dept. of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Modaresi
Mohammad Hossein
MH
Dept. of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Sobhani
Aligholi
A
Dept. of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D009832:Olfactory Nerve / Q000166:cytology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*