Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2012, Vol. 7 ›› Issue (26): 2018-2027.

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Human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote regeneration of crush-injured rat sciatic nerves

Mi-Ae Sung1, Hun Jong Jung2, Jung-Woo Lee3, Jin-Yong Lee3, Kang-Mi Pang 3, 4, Sang Bae Yoo5, Mohammad S. Alrashdan3, Soung-Min Kim3, Jeong Won Jahng5, Jong-Ho Lee 1, 3, 5   

  1. 1 Department of Craniofacial Structure & Functional Biology, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
    2 Department of Occupation and Environment, Postgraduate College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Choong-ju, Republic of Korea
    3 Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
    4 Department of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea
    5 Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • Received:2012-05-21 Revised:2012-07-17 Online:2012-09-15 Published:2012-09-15
  • Contact: Jong-Ho Lee, D.D.S., Ph.D., Department of Oral & Maxil-lofacial Surgery, Department of Craniofacial Structure & Functional Biology, Dental Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Yeongeon-Dong, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, 110-768, Korea leejongh@snu.ac.kr
  • About author:Mi-Ae Sung★, M.S., De-partment of Craniofacial Structure & Functional Biol-ogy, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

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Abstract:

Several studies have demonstrated that human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells can promote neural regeneration following brain injury. However, the therapeutic effects of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells in guiding peripheral nerve regeneration remain poorly understood. This study was designed to investigate the effects of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells on neural regeneration using a rat sciatic nerve crush injury model. Human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (1 × 106) or a PBS control were injected into the crush-injured segment of the sciatic nerve. Four weeks after cell injection, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and tyrosine kinase receptor B mRNA expression at the lesion site was increased in comparison to control. Furthermore, sciatic function index, Fluoro Gold-labeled neuron counts and axon density were also significantly increased when compared with control. Our results indicate that human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells promote the functional recovery of crush-injured sciatic nerves.

Key words: human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells, sciatic nerve, crush injury, Fluoro Gold, stem cells, peripheral nerve regeneration, regeneration, neural regeneration