title: Improvement of spinal contusion model by cotransplanting bone marrow stromal cells and induced BMSCs into oligodendrocytes-like cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Demyelination is a common lesion in spinal cord injury, cell therapy is one of the approaches for replacing the lost oligodendrocytes. In this study, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) have been transdifferentiated into oligodendrocyte-like cells (OLCs) and used in cytotherapy of contused spinal cords in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  The BMSCs were collected from the rat long bones, and cultured and characterized by different markers, then they were preinduced with dimethyl sulfoxide followed by retinoic acid, and then the preinduced cells were induced with combination of basic fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor and heregulin, followed by triiodothyronine. The OLCs were transplanted in the contused spinal cords of the rats, combined with undifferentiated BMSCs. Specific markers were used in order to characterize the cells by immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction. The BMSCs showed typical immnuoreactivity to the markers, and the OLCs were immunostained with specific markers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was an improvement in the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan score with reduction in the cavitation in the contused rats treated with OLCs combined with BMSCs. The transplanted cells were detected in the contused spinal cord.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of the transdifferentiated BMSCs into OLCs with the undifferentiated BMSCs improved the contused spinal cord.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Gholam R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Kaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University Tehran, Iran - takialtr@modares.ac.ir.|Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Taki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tiraihi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delshad
authors.affiliation: Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Taher
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taheri
authors.affiliation: Shefa Neuroscience Research Center, Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.affiliation: Middle Euphrates Neuroscience Center, College of Medicine, Kufa University, Annajaf Al-Ashraf, Iraq.
authors.forename: Hayder K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Hassoun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D005260:Female; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries