Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells from human umbilical cord versus human umbilical cord blood for peripheral nerve regeneration

• Published in: Neural regeneration research Vol. 5; no. 11; pp. 838 - 845
• Main Author: Kang-Mi Pang Mi-Ae Sung Mohammad S. Alrashdan Sang Bae Yoo Samir Jabaiti Soung-Min Kim Sung-June Kim Myung-Jin Kim Jeong Won Jahng Jong-Ho Lee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Department of Craniofacial Structure & Functional Biology, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-768, Korea 01.06.2010; Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-768, Korea%Department of Craniofacial Structure & Functional Biology, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-768, Korea%Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-768, Korea%Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University Hospital, Amman 11942, Jordan%Department of Electrical Engineering, School of Electrical and Computer Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-768, Korea%Department of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Seoul National University, Seoul 110-768, Korea
• Subjects: DMEM; 周围神经再生; 干细胞移植; 形态计量学; 背根神经节神经元; 脐带血; 骨髓基质细胞; stem cells; axotomy defect; peripheral nerve regeneration; umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell; umbilical cord blood mesenchymal stem cell
• ISSN: 1673-5374
• DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2010.11.006

BACKGROUND： Mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） appear to be a good alternative to Schwann cells in the treatment of peripheral nerve injury. Fetal stem cells, like umbilical cord blood （UCB） and umbilical cord （UC） stem cells, have several advantages over adult stem cells. OBJECTIVE： To assess the effects of UC-derived MSCs （UCMSCs） and UCB-derived MSCs （UCBMSCs） in repair of sciatic nerve defects. DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING： A randomized controlled animal experiment was performed at the laboratory of Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Seoul National University Dental Hospital, from July to December 2009. MATERIALS： UCMSCs were provided by the Research Institute of Biotechnology, Dongguk University. UCBMSCs were provided by the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tumor Biology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University. Dulbecco＇s modified Eagle＇s medium （DMEM） was purchased from Gibco-BRL, USA. METHODS： Seven-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly and evenly divided into three groups： DMEM, UCBMSCs, and UCMSCs. A 10-mm defect in the left sciatic nerve was constructed in all rats. DMEM （15 μL） containing 1×10^6 UCBMSCs or UCMSCs was injected into the gap between nerve stumps, with the surrounding epineurium as a natural conduit. For the DMEM group, simple DMEM was injected. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： At 7 weeks after sciatic nerve dissection, dorsal root ganglia neurons were labeled by fluorogold retrograde labeling. At 8 weeks, electrophysiology and histomorphometry were performed. At 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after surgery, sciatic nerve function was evaluated using gait analysis. RESULTS： The UCBMSCs group and the UCMSCs group exhibited similar sciatic nerve function and electrophysiological indices, which were better than the DMEM group, as measured by gait analysis （P 〈 0.05）. Fluorogold retrograde labeling of sciatic nerve revealed that the UCBMSCs group demonstrated a higher number of labeled neurons; however, the differences were not significant. Histomorphometric indices were similar in the UCBMSCs and UCMSCs groups, and total axon counts, particularly axon density （P 〈 0.05）, were significantly greater in the UCBMSCs and UCMSCs groups than in the DMEM group. CONCLUSION： Transplanting either UCBMSCs or UCMSCs into axotomized sciatic nerves could accelerate and promote sciatic nerve regeneration over 8 weeks. Both treatments had similar effects on nerve regeneration.