Abstract
Stem cells are considered as promising tools to repair diverse tissue injuries. Among the different stem cell types, the “olfactory ectomesenchymal stem cells” (OE-MSCs) located in the adult olfactory mucosa stand as one of the best candidates. Here, we evaluated if OE-MSC grafts could decrease memory impairments due to ischemic injury. OE-MSCs were collected from syngeneic F344 rats. After a two-step global cerebral ischemia, inducing hippocampal lesions, learning abilities were evaluated using an olfactory associative discrimination task. Cells were grafted into the hippocampus 5 weeks after injury and animal's learning abilities reassessed. Rats were then sacrificed and the brains collected for immunohistochemical analyses. We observed significant impairments in learning and memory abilities following ischemia. However, 4 weeks after OE-MSC grafts, animals displayed learning and memory performances similar to those of controls, while sham rats did not improve them. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that grafts promoted neuroblast and glial cell proliferation, which could permit to restore cognitive functions. These results demonstrated, for the first time, that syngeneic transplantations of OE-MSCs in rats can restore cognitive abilities impaired after brain injuries and provide support for the development of clinical studies based on grafts of OE-MSCs in amnesic patients following brain injuries.
Highlights
Regenerating the central nervous system stands as a scientific challenge raising great hopes [1]
We evaluated for the first time, using a syngeneic approach, the therapeutic potential of delayed olfactory ectomesenchymal stem cells” (OE-MSCs) grafts in a rat model of global cerebral ischemia (GCI)
As not that much newborn neurons were observed in sham animals, we can assume that this neurogenesis is related to the transplantations of OE-MSCs
Summary
Regenerating the central nervous system stands as a scientific challenge raising great hopes [1]. Located in the lamina propria of the olfactory mucosa, they might partly support its permanently selfrenewing capacity, their physiological role is still not well established [11,12,13] These cells, identified as a member of the mesenchymal stem cell family, display a high in vitro proliferation rate and were characterized as multipotent [9, 10, 14]. They secrete neurotrophic and immunomodulatory factors which could protect injured brain areas [15, 16]. Due to their origin and characteristics, they are named “olfactory ectomesenchymal stem cells” (OE-MSCs) [9] and may provide a potential source of stem cells to regenerate injured central nervous system [12]
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