title: Neuroprotective effects of GDNF-expressing human amniotic fluid cells.
abstract: Brain injury continues to be one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Despite decades of research, there is currently no pharmacologically effective treatment for preventing neuronal loss and repairing the brain. As a result, novel therapeutic approaches, such as cell-based therapies, are being actively pursued to repair tissue damage and restore neurological function after injury. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective potential of amniotic fluid (AF) single cell clones, engineered to secrete glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (AF-GDNF), both in vitro and in a surgically induced model of brain injury. Our results show that pre-treatment with GDNF significantly increases cell survival in cultures of AF cells or cortical neurons exposed to hydrogen peroxide. Since improving the efficacy of cell transplantation depends on enhanced graft cell survival, we investigated whether AF-GDNF cells seeded on polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffolds could enhance graft survival following implantation into the lesion cavity. Encouragingly, the AF-GDNF cells survived longer than control AF cells in serum-free conditions and continued to secrete GDNF both in vitro and following implantation into the injured motor cortex. AF-GDNF implantation in the acute period following injury was sufficient to activate the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in host neural cells in the peri-lesion area, potentially boosting endogenous neuroprotective pathways. These results were complemented with promising trends in beam walk tasks in AF-GDNF/PGA animals during the 7 day timeframe. Further investigation is required to determine whether significant behavioural improvement can be achieved at a longer timeframe.
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Biosciences, National Research Council Canada, Building M-54, 1200 Montreal Road, Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0R6.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jezierski
authors.forename: Kerry
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rennie
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zurakowski
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ribecco-Lutkiewicz
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haukenfrers
authors.forename: Abdellah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ajji
authors.forename: Andrée
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gruslin
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sikorska
authors.forename: Mahmud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bani-Yaghoub
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000166:cytology*; D000818:Animals; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D016877:Oxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D051100:Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D016877:Oxidants; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide