Enhancing the permeability of the brain blood barrier for promoting cell therapy efficacy in cerebral infarction

• Main Authors: Jui-ShengChen, 陳睿生
• Other Authors: Kuen-Jer Tsai
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/2z24bx

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 臨床醫學研究所碩士在職專班 === 102 === A stroke, also called cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is the rapid loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. It is one of the major lethal diseases in the modern era. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a heterogeneous population of cells that have fibroblast-like morphology, form colonies in vitro and can differentiate into bone, cartilage and fat cells. In previous studies, MSCs have been shown to activate endogenous restorative responses after brain injury, possibly by the enhancement of angiogenesis, neurogenesis and synaptogenesis. Here, a rat middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) procedure was used to generate a stable ischemic-reperfusion model in the brain. First, we performed systemic pre-treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) to increase blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability, which showed that more large particles were recruited at acute stage post-stroke. Second, we successfully increased the MSCs retention in the infarcted area by early VEGF pretreatment post-stroke. Finally, the therapeutic effect of MSCs could be facilitated and the infarct size post-stroke could be minimized. These results suggest that enhancing the BBB permeability may promote cell therapy efficacy in cerebral infarction.