Transplantation of human neural precursor cells in Matrigel scaffolding improves outcome from focal cerebral ischemia after delayed postischemic treatment in rats

Kunlin Jin, Xiaoou Mao, Lin Xie, Veronica Galvan, Bin Lai, Yaoming Wang, Olivia Gorostiza, Xiaomei Wang, David A. Greenberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

98 Scopus citations

Abstract

Transplantation of neural cells is a potential approach for stroke treatment, but disruption of tissue architecture may limit transplant efficacy. One strategy for enhancing the ability of transplants to restore brain structure and function is to administer cells together with biomaterial scaffolding. We electrocoagulated the distal middle cerebral artery in adult rats and, 3 weeks later, injected one of the following into the infarct cavity: artificial cerebrospinal fluid, Matrigel scaffolding, human embryonic stem cell-derived neuronal precursor cells, scaffolding plus cells, or cells cultured in and administered together with scaffolding. Five weeks after transplantation, the latter two groups showed ∼ 50% and ∼ 60% reductions, respectively, in infarct cavity volume. Rats given cells cultured in and administered together with scaffolding also showed (1) survival and neuronal differentiation of transplanted cells shown by immunostaining for neuronal marker proteins and cleaved caspase-3, and by patch-clamp recording, 8 weeks after transplantation and (2) improved outcome on tests of sensorimotor and cognitive functions, 4 to 9 weeks after transplantation. These results indicate that transplantation of human neural cells together with biomaterial scaffolding has the potential to improve the outcome from stroke, even when treatment is delayed for several weeks after the ischemic event.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)534-544
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Volume30
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2010

Keywords

  • Ischemia
  • Neurogenesis
  • Neuronal progenitor cell
  • Stem cells
  • Stroke
  • Transplantation

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