title: Effect of the bone marrow cell transplantation on elevated plus-maze performance in hippocampal-injured mice.
abstract: Several reports have shown that the hippocampus plays an important role in different aspects of the emotional control. There is evidence that lesions in this structure cause behavioral disinhibition, with reduction of reactions expressing fear and anxiety. Thus, to portray the aptitude of cell therapy to abrogate injuries of hippocampal tissue, we examined the behavioral effects of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) transplantation on C57BL/6 mice that had the hippocampus damaged by electrolytic lesion. For this purpose, mice received, seven days after bilateral electrolytic lesion in the dorsal hippocampus, culture medium or BMMCs expressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) transgene. One week after transplantation, animals were tested in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). On the whole, three assessment sessions in the EPM were carried out, with seven days separating each trial. Thirty-five days after the induction of injury, mice were sacrificed and their brains removed for immunohistochemistry. The behavioral evaluation showed that the hippocampal lesion caused disinhibition, an effect which was slightly lessened, from the second EPM test, in transplanted subjects. On the other hand, immunohistochemical data revealed an insignificant presence of EGFP(+) cells inside the brains of injured mice. In view of such scenario, we hypothesized that the subtle rehabilitation of the altered behavior might be a result from a paracrine effect from the transplanted cells. This might have been caused by the release of bioactive factors capable of boosting endogenous recuperative mechanisms for a partial regaining of the hippocampal functions.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology, USP/IPT/I. Butantan, Avenida Prof. Lineu Prestes 2415, Cidade Universitária, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luís Bruno
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: da Cruz e Alves-de-Moraes
authors.forename: João Tadeu
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Ribeiro-Paes
authors.forename: Beatriz Monteiro
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Enéas Galdini
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Ferrazoli
authors.forename: Telma Gonçalves Carneiro Spera
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: de Andrade
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL