Intravenous Transplantation of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promoted The Production of Dopaminergic Neurons and Improved Spatial Memory in A Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease
Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder described by the dynamic decline of dopaminergicneurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Stem cell transplantation is a new therapeutic strategy in thetreatment of PD. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of intravenous infusion of adipose-derivedmesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) on memory disorder in Parkinsonian rats.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, male Wistar rats were randomly divided to four groups containingsham, cell treatment, control, and lesion. The cell treatment group received intravenous injection of AD-MSCs 12 daysafter PD induction by bilateral injection of 6-hydroxydopamine. Four weeks after lesion formation, spatial memorywas examined using the Morris water maze (MWM) assessment. The rats’ brains were removed and assessed bybromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap) immunostaining.Results: Statistical analyses revealed a significant addition and reduction in time spent and escape latency in the targetquadrant, respectively, in the cell group as compared to the lesion group. Also, BrdU-labeled cells were present in thesubstantia nigra (SN). The density of TH-positive cells was significantly increased in the AD-MSCs transplantation groupas compared to the lesion group, and the density of astrocytes significantly diminished in the AD-MSCs transplantationgroup as compared to the lesion group.Conclusion: It appears that AD-MSCs treatment for Parkinson’s could decrease the density of astrocytes and promotethe density of TH-positive neurons. It appears that AD-MSCs could improve spatial memory impairment in PD
