title: Therapeutic effects of intra-arterial delivery of bone marrow stromal cells in traumatic brain injury of rats--in vivo cell tracking study by near-infrared fluorescence imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A noninvasive and effective route of cell delivery should be established to yield maximal therapeutic effects for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate whether intra-arterial delivery of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) significantly promotes functional recovery in traumatic brain injury (TBI) in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rat BMSCs were transplanted through the ipsilateral internal carotid artery 7 days after the onset of cortical freezing injury. The BMSCs were labeled with fluorescent dye, and in vivo optical imaging was employed to monitor the behaviors of cells for 4 weeks after transplantation. Motor function was assessed for 4 weeks, and the transplanted BMSCs were examined using immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In vivo optical imaging and histologic analysis clearly demonstrated that the intra-arterially injected BMSCs were engrafted during the first pass without systemic circulation, and the transplanted BMSCs started to migrate from the cerebral capillary bed to the injured CNS tissue within 3 hours. Intra-arterial BMSC transplantation significantly promoted functional recovery after cortical freezing injury. A subgroup of BMSCs expressed the phenotypes of neurons, astrocytes, and endothelial cells around the injured neocortex 4 weeks after transplantation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Intra-arterial transplantation may be a valuable option for prompt, noninvasive delivery of BMSCs to the injured CNS tissue, enhancing functional recovery after TBI. In vivo optical imaging may provide important information on the intracerebral behaviors of donor cells by noninvasive, serial visualization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Osanai
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Masahito
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawabori
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shichinohe
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuge
authors.forename: Kiyohiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Houkin
authors.forename: Nagara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007269:Injections, Intra-Arterial; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000637:transplantation*