Transplanted Dental Pulp Stem Cells Migrate to Injured Area and Express Neural Markers in a Rat Model of Cerebral Ischemia

Abstract

Background/Aims: Ischemic stroke is a major cause of disability and mortality worldwide, while effective restorative treatments are limited at present. Stem cell transplantation holds therapeutic potential for ischemic vascular diseases and may provide an opportunity for neural regeneration. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) origin from neural crest and have neuro-ectodermal features including proliferation and multilineage differentiation potentials. Methods: The rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was used to evaluate whether intravenous administration of DPSCs can reduce infarct size and to estimate the migration and trans-differentiation into neuron-like cells in focal cerebral ischemia models. Brain tissues were collected at 4 weeks following cell transplantation and analyzed with immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. Results: Intravenously administration of rat-derived DPSCs were found to migrate into the boundary of ischemic areas and expressed neural specific markers, reducing infarct volume and cerebral edema. Conclusions: These results suggest that DPSCs treatment may serve as a potential therapy for clinical stroke patients in the future.