Effects of Graft Placement Site on the Survival of Adrenal Medulla Transplants into the Brain and Its Relation with the Recovery of Motor Function

Abstract

Background Because of their lack of long-term viability, adrenal tissue transplants have shown limited success in alleviating the motor disturbances associated with experimental and pathologic striatal dopamine denervation. In this study, we examined how the graft placement site influences adrenal medulla transplant survival and its relation with the reduction of motor deficits in rats bearing unilateral 6-OHDA lesion. Methods One or 5 μL of fetal adrenal medullar tissue was grafted either inside the striatal parenchyma or into the lateral ventricle in contact with the dopamine-denervated striatum. Motor disturbances, as assessed by apomorphine-induced rotation, were correlated to the graft morphologic survival features. Results Apomorphine-induced rotation showed a marginal reduction of 11% in all groups independently of graft survival features or placement site. Intrastriatal transplants showed limited viability characterized by a substantial loss of graft initial volume as well as fewer and smaller chromaffin cells compared to ventricular grafts, which had a reduced loss of graft initial volume and more and larger chromaffin cells. Conclusions Although the lateral ventricle may favor adrenal medulla transplant viability, their induced motor outcome is comparable to that induced by less viable intrastriatal grafts, suggesting that the implanted dopamine-producing cells may interact and influence striatal neurons better when placed in close proximity.