Preservation of interhemispheric cortical connections through corpus callosum following intravenous infusion of mesenchymal stem cells in a rat model of cerebral infarction.
Systemic administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) following cerebral infarction exerts functional improvements. Previous research has suggested potential therapeutic mechanisms that promote neuroprotection and synaptogenesis. These include secretion of neurotrophic factors, remodeling of neural circuits, restoration of the blood brain barrier, reduction of inflammatory infiltration and demyelination, and elevation of trophic factors. In addition to these mechanisms, we hypothesized that restored interhemispheric bilateral motor cortex connectivity might be an additional mechanism of functional recovery. In the present study, we have shown, with both MRI diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neuroanatomical tracing techniques using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing GFP, that there was anatomical restoration of cortical interhemispheric connections through the corpus callosum after intravenous infusion of MSCs in a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) stroke model. Moreover, the degree of connectivity was greater in the MSC-treated group than in the vehicle-infused group. In accordance, both the thickness of corpus callosum and synaptic puncta in the contralateral (non-infarcted) motor cortex connected to the corpus callosum were greater in the MSC-treated group than in the vehicle group. Together, these results suggest that distinct preservation of interhemispheric cortical connections through corpus callosum was promoted by intravenous infusion of MSCs. This anatomical preservation of the motor cortex in the contralateral hemisphere may contribute to functional improvements following MSC therapy for cerebral stroke.
['Nagahama|Hiroshi|H|', 'Nakazaki|Masahito|M|', 'Sasaki|Masanori|M|', 'Kataoka-Sasaki|Yuko|Y|', 'Namioka|Takahiro|T|', 'Namioka|Ai|A|', 'Oka|Shinichi|S|', 'Onodera|Rie|R|', 'Suzuki|Junpei|J|', 'Sasaki|Yuichi|Y|', 'Kocsis|Jeffery D|JD|', 'Honmou|Osamu|O|']
D000818:Animals D003337:Corpus Callosum D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging D004195:Disease Models, Animal D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery D007262:Infusions, Intravenous D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells D051381:Rats D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley D020521:Stroke
Mesenchymal stem cell Stroke Transplantation