Citation

Sun MK, Passaro AP, Latchoumane CF, Spellicy SE, Bowler M, Goeden M, Martin WJ, Holmes PV, Stice SL, Karumbaiah L. J. Neurotrauma 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

University of Georgia, Department of Animal and Dairy Science, Athens, Georgia, United States; lohitash@uga.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2019.6443

PMID

31774030

Abstract

The lack of effective therapies for moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injures (TBIs) leaves patients with lifelong disabilities. Neural stem cells (NSCs) have demonstrated great promise for neural repair and regeneration. However, direct evidence to support their use as a cell-replacement therapy for neural injuries is currently lacking. We hypothesized that NSC-derived extracellular vesicles (NSC EVs) mediate repair indirectly after TBI by enhancing neuroprotection and therapeutic efficacy of endogenous NSCs. We evaluated the short-term effects of acute intravenous injections of NSC EVs immediately following a rat TBI. Male NSC EV-treated rats demonstrated significantly reduced lesion sizes, enhanced presence of endogenous NSCs, and attenuated motor function impairments four weeks post-TBI, when compared to vehicle- and TBI-only male controls. Although statistically not significant, we observed a therapeutic effect of NSC EVs on brain lesion volume, nestin expression and behavioral recovery in female subjects. Our study demonstrates the neuroprotective and functional benefits of NSC EVs for treating TBI and points to gender-dependent effects on treatment outcomes, which requires further investigation.

Language: en

Keywords

RECOVERY; Rat; STEM CELLS; TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY