Neuroprotective effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in an animal model of Parkinson `s Disease

MATHIEU, PATRICIA; VALERIA ROCA; FERNANDO J PITOSSI

Congreso; Congress International Society for Stem cell Research; 2011

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are reported to possess immunomodulatory properties and secrete various neurotrophic factors. We have demonstrated that inflammation plays a crucial role in Parkinson ´s Disease (PD) progression. In this study, we evaluated whether the transplantation of hMSC obtained from umbilical cord (UC) has a neuroprotective effect in a rat PD model.   To address the neuroprotective effect of these cells, we implanted undifferentiated hMSCs into the sustantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of rats bearing a lesion of the nigrostriatal pathway induced by the intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a widely recognized rodent model of PD[f1] . Umbilical cord hMSC expressed markers characteristic of mesenchymal stem cells:  CD 90 (+), CD 73 (+), CD 105 (+), CD 44 (+), CD 34 (-), HLA-DR (-), CD 14 (-) and CD 45 (-). Our results revealed that rats receiving hMSCs transplantation displayed significant preservation in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the SNc compared to control rats. However, rats receiving hMSC transplantation did not show a significant behavioural amelioration in a cylinder test compared with the control groups at the experimental time points analysed. Even though the animals did not receive an immunosuppressive treatment the inflammatory response against human transplanted cells was restricted to the implantation area. Our results suggest that grafted hMSCs exert neuroprotective effects on dopaminergic neurons against the degeneration induced by 6-OHDA. The mechanisms underlying this effect remain to be clarified, although we favour the hypothesis that hMSCs have a neuroprotective effect through anti-inflammatory actions.  [f1]Add times