Intravenous transplantation of olfactory bulb ensheathing cells for a spinal cord hemisection injury rat model (original) (raw)

2019, Cell Transplantation

Cellular transplantation strategies utilizing intraspinal or intrathecal olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) have been reported as beneficial for spinal cord injury (SCI). However, there are many disadvantages of these methods, including additional trauma to the spinal cord parenchyma and technical challenges. Therefore, we investigated the feasibility and potential benefits of intravenous transplantation of OECs in a rat hemisection SCI model. OECs derived from olfactory bulb tissue were labeled with quantum dots (QDs), and their biodistribution after intravenous transplantation was tracked using a fluorescence imaging system. Accumulation of the transplanted OECs was observed in the injured spinal cord within 10 min, peaked at seven days after cell transplantation, and decreased gradually thereafter. This time window corresponded to the blood–spinal cord barrier (BSCB) opening time, which was quantitated with the Evans blue leakage assay. Using immunohistochemistry, we examined neu...

Sign up for access to the world's latest research.

checkGet notified about relevant papers

checkSave papers to use in your research

checkJoin the discussion with peers

checkTrack your impact