Effects of 17beta-estradiol pre-treated adult neural stem cells on neuronal differentiation and neurological recovery in rats with cerebral ischemia.

摘要

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of estradiol-pre-treated neural stem cells (NSCs) derived from rat hippocampi post-ischemic neurological recovery and neuronal survival, migration and differentiation in rats with cerebral ischemia. RESEARCH DESIGN: A controlled laboratory study in animal model. METHODS AND PROCEDURE: NSCs were cultured with (CE) or without (CN) 17beta-estradiol (E2) and transplanted into the lateral ventricles of rats with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). A MCAO model alone group and treatment control group served as controls. MAIN OUTCOME AND RESULTS: Transplantation recipients (CN and CE groups) had ameliorated neurological deficits, less severe morphological changes and reduced total infarct volume, while there were no significant differences in these outcomes or in nestin and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression between the CN and CE groups at all time points. On day 1 post-transplantation, the CE group exhibited significantly higher neuron-specific enolase expression compared to all other groups, but there were no significant differences between the CE group and CN groups on days 4 and 7 post-transplantation. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated no measurable improvements of E2 pre-treatment NSCs in neuronal survival, migration or neurological recovery. The findings provide pre-clinical support for the use of NSC transplantation in ischemic injury.