Intraarterial administration of marrow stromal cells in a rat model of traumatic brain injury

To test the efficacy of various delivery routes of stem cells to treat cere bral injury, we investigated the parenchymal distribution of marrow stromal cells (MSCs) injected into the internal carotid artery (ICA) of the adult rat after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeled MS Cs were injected via the ipsilateral ICA at 24 h after TBI. Using histology and immunohistochemistry, the distribution of implanted MSCs was analyzed at 7 days after transplantation. Four groups (n = 4/group) were studied: gr oup 1, animals transplanted with MSCs cultured with NGF and BDNF at 24 h af ter TBI; group 2, animals transplanted with MSCs cultured without NGF and B DNF; group 3, animals injected with a placebo, phosphate buffered saline in to the ICA at 24 h after TBI; and group 4, rats subjected to TBI only. In g roups 1 and 2, BrdU-positive cells were localized to the boundary zone of t he lesion, corpus callosum and cortex of the ipsilateral hemisphere. The nu mber of BrdU-positive cells was significantly higher in the ipsilateral hem isphere than in the contralateral hemisphere. More MSCs infused intraarteri ally engrafted in group 1 (18.9%) than in group 2 (14.4%, p < 0.05). Using double staining, BrdU-positive cells expressed MAP-2, NeuN, and GFAP in bot h groups 1 and 2, with this expression being greater in group 1 and the dif ference between two groups reaching statistical significance in case of MAP -2. Our data suggest that intraarterial transplantation of MSCs is a viable route for the intracerebral administration of MSCs for the treatment of TB I, since MSCs infused intraarterially after TBI survive and migrate into th e brain. Some implanted MSCs express proteins specific to neurons and astro cytes. The addition of NGF and BDNF promote migration of MSCs into the brai n and subsequent expression of neuronal protein MAP-2.