Cell therapy with bone marrow stromal cells after intracerebral hemorrhage: impact of platelet-rich plasma scaffolds

Background aims. Cell therapy using bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) has been considered a promising strategy for neurologic sequelae after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, after intracerebral administration of BMSCs, most of the cells die, partly because of the absence of extracellular matrix. Intracerebral transplantation of BMSCs, supported in a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) scaffold, optimizes this type of cell therapy. Methods. ICH was induced by stereotactic injection of 0.5 IU of collagenase type IV in the striatum of adult Wistar rats (n = 40). Two months later, the rats were subjected to intracerebral administration of 5 x 10(6) allogeneic BMSCs embedded in a PRP scaffold (n = 10), 5 x 10(6) allogeneic BMSCs in saline (n = 10), PRP-derived scaffold only (n = 10) or saline only (n = 10). Functional inwrovements in each group over the next 6 months were assessed using Rotarod and Video-Tracking-Box tests. Endogenous neurogenesis and survival of transplanted BMSCs were examined at the end of follow-up. Results. Our study demonstrated neurologic improvement after BMSC transplantation and significantly better functional improvement for the group of animals that received BMSCs in the PRP-derived scaffold compared with the group that received BMSCs in saline. Histologic results showed that better functional outcome was associated with strong activation of endogenous neurogenesis. After intracerebral administration of BMSCs, donor cells were integrated in the injured tissue and showed phenotypic expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and neuronal nucleus. Conclusions. PRP-derived scaffolds increase the viability and biologic activity of BMSCs and optimize functional recovery when this type of cell therapy is applied after ICH.