Rat vibrissa dermal papilla cells promote healing of spinal cord injury following transplantation

• Published in: Experimental and therapeutic medicine Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 3929 - 3939
• Main Authors: Li, Meiying, Mei, Xianglin, Lv, Shuang, Zhang, Zechuan, Xu, Jinying, Sun, Dongjie, Xu, Jiayi, He, Xia, Chi, Guangfan, Li, Yulin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece Spandidos Publications 01.04.2018; Spandidos Publications UK Ltd; D.A. Spandidos
• Subjects: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; Care and treatment; Genetic aspects; Health aspects; Methods; Neurotrophins; Patient outcomes; Rodents; Spinal cord injuries; Stem cell transplantation; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Beijing China; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; China; Germany; spinal cord injury; cell transplantation; regeneration; mesenchymal stem cells; dermal papilla cells
• ISSN: 1792-0981; 1792-1015
• DOI: 10.3892/etm.2018.5916

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation is effective for repairing spinal cord injuries (SCIs); however, there are limitations of clinical BMSC applications. Previously, we reported that dermal papilla cells (DPCs) secrete brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor more actively than BMSCs. To analyze the therapeutic function of DPCs in SCI, primary DPCs and BMSCs were cultured from the same green fluorescence protein-transgenic rat. The cells were suspended in rat-tail collagen I and transplanted separately into completely transected spinal cord lesion sites. Grafted-cell survival was examined with a small animal imaging detection system, and lesion sites were examined histochemically. imaging revealed enhanced lesion filling and survival with DPC grafts compared with BMSC grafts on days 14 and 21 post-transplantation. Hematoxylin and eosin staining demonstrated that lesion area sizes in the two groups were not markedly different. In the DPC transplant group, more axons formed within the lesion sites. CD31-positive vessel-like structures were more abundant in lesion sites near the grafted cells in the DPC group. The results of the present study suggest that DPCs may be a valuable alternative source of stem cells for autologous cell therapy for the treatment of SCI.