Stroke victims may benefit from stem cell t...( Tampa Fla. (Jan. 28 2008) According...)

Tampa, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2008) According to two studies published in the current issue of CELL TRANSPLANTATION (Vol.16 No.10), stroke victims may benefit from human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) or bone marrow stromal cell (BMSCs) transplantation. In both studies, the migration of chemically tagged transplanted stem cells were tracked to determine the degree to which the transplanted cells reached damaged areas of the brain and became therapeutically active.

Tracking transplanted hMSCs to infarcted areas

In a study carried out by Korean researchers, labeled hMSCs (early precursor cells to musculoskeletal, blood, vascular and urogenital systems) were transplanted into animal stroke models with cerebral artery occlusion and tracked by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at two days, one week, two weeks, six weeks and ten weeks after transplant.

Cells started showing indications of migration as early as one or two weeks following transplantation, said lead author Jihwan, Song, DPhil, of the Pochon CHA University College of Medicine. At 10 weeks, the majority of the cells were detected in the core of the infarcted area.

The study concluded that there is a strong tendency for transplanted hMSCs to migrate toward the infarcted area regardless of injection site but that the degree of migration was likely based on differences in each animals ischemic condition.

We speculate that the extensive migratory nature of stem cells and their utilization will provide an important tool for developing novel stroke therapies, said Song.

BMSCs migrate to damaged brain tissue, improve neural function

In a joint Canadian, Chinese study, BMSCs - connective tissue cells - were injected into animals 24 hours following middle cerebral artery occlusion. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy to track fluorescent signals and immuno markers attached to the cells, researchers found that within seven days of the injection the BMSCs had migrated
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