Homing of Stem Cells to Sites of Inflammatory Brain Injury After Intracerebral and Intravenous Administration: A Longitudinal Imaging Study
June 2010
in “
Stem Cell Research & Therapy
”
epidermal neural crest stem cells eNCSCs hair follicles bone marrow-derived stem cells BMSCs lipopolysaccharide LPS pathotropic properties autologous stem cell sources glial cells neurodegenerative diseases demyelinating diseases stem cells hair follicle stem cells bone marrow stem cells inflammation brain inflammation
TLDR Stem cells can move to brain injury sites and be tracked, showing promise for treating brain diseases.
This study investigated the homing potential of epidermal neural crest stem cells (eNCSCs) from hair follicles and bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) in a rat model with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced brain inflammation. Both cell types were tracked using MRI, showing that they migrated toward lesion sites in inflamed brains, demonstrating pathotropic properties. The study concluded that eNCSCs and BMSCs could serve as viable autologous stem cell sources for treating neurodegenerative and demyelinating diseases due to their ability to migrate to injury sites and differentiate into glial cells, although differentiation into neurons was limited. The findings suggested that intravenous delivery could be a clinically viable option, with approximately 8% of intravenously injected cells reaching the lesion site.
