Blood to brain yet again

摘要

Toth and colleagues report in this issue of Blood on an experimental model that was chosen so as to ensure feasibility of tracking the origin of cells found in the brain. First, bone marrow (BM) from green fluorescence protein (GFP) transgenic male mice was transplanted into female CS7B1 recipients. Cerebral artery occlusion in these radiation chimeras caused frontal and parietal cortical brain injury. Upon combined cytokine treatment with G-CSF and SCF, an overall improvement and partial correction of brain damage was observed in the cytokine-treated group compared with controls, and was associated with angiogenesis. Some of the blood vessels contained GFP-positive endothelial cells harboring the Y chromosome, substantiating their BM origin. The study therefore suggests that a cell population within the BM is capable of responding, either directly or indirectly, to G-CSF/ SCF. This population consequently leaves the BM microenvironment and migrates, via an unknown route, to the brain (see figure). Presumably, the cells must then cross the blood-brain barrier and settle in the brain where they participate in formation of new vessels