title: Neurovascular recovery via co-transplanted neural and vascular progenitors leads to improved functional restoration after ischemic stroke in rats.
abstract: The concept of the "neurovascular unit," emphasizing the interactions between neural and vascular components in the brain, raised the notion that neural progenitor cell (NPC) transplantation therapy aimed at neural repair may be insufficient for the treatment of ischemic stroke. Here, we demonstrate that enhanced neurovascular recovery via cotransplantation of NPCs and embryonic stem cell-derived vascular progenitor cells (VPCs) in a rat stroke model is correlated with improved functional recovery after stroke. We found that cotransplantation promoted the survival, migration, differentiation, and maturation of neuronal and vascular cells derived from the cotransplanted progenitors. Furthermore, it triggered an increased generation of VEGF-, BDNF-, and IGF1-expressing neural cells derived from the grafted NPCs. Consistently, compared with transplantation of NPCs alone, cotransplantation more effectively improved the neurobehavioral deficits and attenuated the infarct volume. Thus, cotransplantation of NPCs and VPCs represents a more effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of stroke than transplantation of NPCs alone.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China ; School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Jia
authors: J
authors: Li
authors: School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Yaohui
authors: Y
authors: Tang
authors: School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Yongting
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Rongbiao
authors: R
authors: Tang
authors: Institute of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Weifang
authors: W
authors: Jiang
authors: School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Guo-Yuan
authors: GY
authors: Yang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Renji-Med X Clinical Stem Cell Research Center, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China ; School of Biomedical Engineering and Med-X Research Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China.
authors: Wei-Qiang
authors: WQ
authors: Gao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*