Dental pulp stem cell transplantation facilitates neuronal neuroprotection following cerebral ischemic stroke

作者：Gong, Pian; Tian, Qi; He, Yan; He, Peibang; Wang, Jianfeng; Guo, Yujia; Ye, Qingsong^*; Li, Mingchang^*

来源：Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 2022, 152: 113234.

DOI：10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113234

• Dental pulp stem cells
• Transplantation
• Ischemic stroke
• Neuroprotection
• Neuronal survival

Objectives: This study aimed to identify and evaluate the intracranial transplantation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) as a possible ischemic stroke therapy that mitigates neuronal death/apoptosis. Materials and methods: DPSCs were isolated from the impacted third molars of healthy volunteers and then intracranially injected at 24 h post-ischemic stroke to Sprague Dawley rats that had been subjected to 2 h of middle cerebral artery occlusion. Neurological functional deficits were assessed using the modified neurological severity score (mNSS), and cerebral edema was quantified using brain water content. Neuronal death/apoptosis was indicated by TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) staining, NeuN immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry, and Western blot analysis of the protein expression of anti-apoptotic indicator of Bcl-2 and apoptotic indicators of Bax and caspase 3. Results: DPSC transplantation could ameliorate neurological dysfunction and brain edema, reduce infarct volume, decrease the percentage of TUNEL-positive nuclei, increase the number and percentage of NeuN-positive cells in ischemic penumbra, increase the ratio of Bcl-2 and Bax and down-regulate the production of caspase 3 in the cortical infarct zone. Conclusions: DPSC therapy via intracranial injection exerted remarkably neuroprotection mainly by inhibiting neuronal death/apoptosis.

• 单位
  武汉大学