Toward Personalized Cell Therapies: Autologous Menstrual Blood Cells for Stroke

Cell therapy has been established as an important field of research with considerable progress in the last years. At the same time, the progressive aging of the population has highlighted the importance of discovering therapeutic alternatives for diseases of high incidence and disability, such as stroke. Menstrual blood is a recently discovered source of stem cells with potential relevance for the treatment of stroke. Migration to the infarct site, modulation of the inflammatory reaction, secretion of neurotrophic factors, and possible differentiation warrant these cells as therapeutic tools. We here propose the use of autologous menstrual blood cells in the restorative treatment of the subacute phase of stroke. We highlight the availability, proliferative capacity, pluripotency, and angiogenic features of these cells and explore their mechanistic pathways of repair. Practical aspects of clinical application of menstrual blood cells for stroke will be discussed, from cell harvesting and cryopreservation to administration to the patient

Methods of treating stroke using stem cell-like menstrual blood cells

A cell type that is a complete match of the transplant recipient appears as an optimal scenario to open treatment options to a large patient population with minimal complications. The use of autologous bone marrow or umbilical cord blood has been proposed as a good source of stem cells for cell therapy. Menstrual blood is found to be another important source of stem cells. Assays of cultured menstrual blood reveal that they express embryonic like-stem cell phenotypic markers and neuronal phenotypic markers under appropriate conditioned media. Oxygen glucose deprivation stroke models show that OGD-exposed primary rat neurons, co-cultured with menstrual blood-derived stem cells or exposed to the media from cultured menstrual blood, exhibited significantly reduced cell death. Transplantation of menstrual blood-derived stem cells, either intracerebrally or intravenously, after experimentally induced ischemic stroke in adult rats also significantly reduced behavioral and histological impairments compared to vehicle-infused rats

Stem Cell Transplantation for Neuroprotection in Stroke

Stem cell-based therapies for stroke have expanded substantially over the last decade. The diversity of embryonic and adult tissue sources provides researchers with the ability to harvest an ample supply of stem cells. However, the optimal conditions of stem cell use are still being determined. Along this line of the need for optimization studies, we discuss studies that demonstrate effective dose, timing, and route of stem cells. We recognize that stem cell derivations also provide uniquely individual difficulties and limitations in their therapeutic applications. This review will outline the current knowledge, including benefits and challenges, of the many current sources of stem cells for stroke therapy