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Effect of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation on behavior and structural changes in myelin in experimental rat autoimmune encephalomyelitis


Jun-Mei Zhang
Hua Wang
Yu-Ying Fan
Feng-Hua Yang

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) transplantation on behavior and structural changes in myelin of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in rats.

Methods: Wistar rats were randomly assigned to normal control, EAE, placebo injection treatment, and MSCs treatment. EAE, placebo injection treatment and MSCs treatment groups were further divided into six groups, i.e., 1-day, 3-day, 7-day, 14-day, 21-day, and 28-day post-onset. Changes in the diseasestatus of the rats and structural changes in myelin at different time points were assessed with silver staining.

Results: Behavioral changes peaked between 13 to 17 days post-immunization (71.90 % incidence), while disease symptoms peaked between 3 and 5 days after onset, were sustained for about 7 days, and then eased gradually thereafter. The highest therapeutic scores and the entire course of the disease in EAE and placebo treatment groups were not significantly different (p > 0.05). However, in MSC treatment group, these parameters were significantly lower than in the above two groups (p < 0.05). In EAE and placebo treatment groups, myelin sheath lesions were obvious from day 3 to 7 but on day 14, the number of myelin sheath fragments decreased significantly. Recovery at different time points was also better than those in EAE and placebo treatment groups.

Conclusion: MSC transplantation shortens the course of EAE, and also reduces its severity. Thus, it has some prospects for use in the management of EAE.

Keywords: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, Autoimmune encephalomyelitis, Transplantation, Myelin

Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1596-9827
print ISSN: 1596-5996