title: Comparison of transdifferentiated and untransdifferentiated human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells in rats after traumatic brain injury.
abstract: Transdifferentiated and untransdifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have shown therapeutic benefits in central nervous system (CNS) injury. However, it is unclear which would be more appropriate for transplantation. To address this question, we transplanted untransdifferentiated human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSCs) and transdifferentiated HUMSCs (HUMSC-derived neurospheres, HUMSC-NSs) into a rat model of traumatic brain injury. Cognitive function, cell survival and differentiation, brain tissue morphology and neurotrophin expression were compared between groups. Significant improvements in cognitive function and brain tissue morphology were seen in the HUMSCs group compared with HUMSC-NSs group, which was accompanied by increased neurotrophin expression. Moreover, only few grafted cells survived in both the HUMSCs and HUMSC-NSs groups, with very few of the cells differentiating into neural-like cells. These findings indicate that HUMSCs are more appropriate for transplantation and their therapeutic benefits may be associated with neuroprotection rather than cell replacement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510282, China.
authors.forename: Sun-Quan
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Hong-Tian
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Mao-Ying
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ying-Qian
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Xiao-Dan
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Ru-Xiang
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D018782:Maze Learning; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors