Intracerebral transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood alleviates hypoxic ischemic brain injury in rat neonates

Aims: Fetal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is a severe condition for which no effective therapy exists. In this study mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from human umbilical cord blood (UCB) of full-term newborns were isolated and intra-cerebrally transplanted into rat neonates after HIBI induction. Nerve function was assessed by the modified neurological severity scores (mNSS) to establish if MSCs could alleviate nerve injury. Results: Immunostaining showed the transplanted MSCs migrated to the hippocampus. Rats receiving MSCs treatment showed significant improvement in the mNSS when compared with controls. Also, histochemical study showed alleviation of brain tissue injury after MSCs treatment. Differentiation of MSCs to astrocytes, but not neurons, was observed. Conclusions: The results indicate a beneficial effect of intracerebral transplantation of MSCs on the functional recovery of rat neonates with HIBI.