Differenzierungsverhalten neuronaler Stammzellen nach der Transplantation in das traumatisch geschädigte ZNS

Abstract

Using the neural stem cell (NSC) clone C17-2, we evaluated the time course of differentiation of transplanted murine NSCs after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Non-immunosuppressed C57BL/6 mice (n = 30) were anesthetized and subjected to controlled cortical impact (CCI). At 3 days post-injury, all brain-injured animals were re-anesthetized and received stereotactic a injection of NSCs into either the ipsilateral or the contralateral hemisphere. One, 3 and 12 weeks thereafter animals were sacrificed to assess NSC survival and differentiation using neuronal (NeuN), astrocytic (GFAP) and oligodendrocytic (CNPase) markers assessed by double-label immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Histological analyses showed that NSCs were detectable at all time points and survive up to 12 weeks following post-TBI transplantation. No differentiation was detected at one or three weeks post-transplantation. However, 12 weeks after transplantation the NSCs transplanted ipsilaterally expressed neuronal or astrocytic markers but no markers of oligodendrocytes, while the contralaterally-transplanted NSCs expressed neuronal but not glial markers. Our results suggest that the location of transplantation may substantially influence the differentiation of NSCs after transplantation into the traumatized mouse brain.