Treatment of craniocerebral injury by transplantation of MSCs and bFGF into cerebral ventricles in rats

Objective To investigate the curative effect of combined transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into the cerebral ventricles on traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its mechanisms.Methods ① MSCs derived from the bony marrow of the rats were cultured and were identified.② The TBI model was established by Feeney method in 48 rats,who were averagely divided into 4 groups,i.e.control group,MSCs treatment group,basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) treatment group and MSCs+bFGF treastment group.MSCs,bFGF and MSCs+bFGF were injected into the lateral ventricle respectively in each group corresponding to the agent 24 hours after TBI.The neurological function was determined by forelimb placing test and balancing beam test.③ Twelve rats in each group were redivided into 3 subgroup of 3,7 and 14 days after TBI.The injection of 5-bronmo-2-deoxyuridine (Brdu) into the lateral ventricles was performed in order to label MSCs in all the group.The Brud-positive cells in the different cerebral areas were determined by the immunohistochemical technique.Results MSCs were proved by immunohistochemiscal test.The neurological function was significantly better in all the experimental groups than that in the control group 3～13 days after the transplantation (P 0.05).The neurological function was significantly better in MSCs+bFGF group than those in MSCs group and bFGF group 3～13 days after the transplantation (P0.05).The number of Brdu-labelling positive cells was significantly more in MSCs+ bFGF group than that in MSCs group and bFGF group (P 0.05),which was significantly more than that in the control group 3,7 and 14 days after the transplantation (P 0.05).Conclusions The transplantation of MSCs+bFGF into the cerebral ventricle can better improve the neurological function compared to MSCs or bFGF.The proliferation of transplanted MSCs and the endogenous stem cells may be promoted,and the direction of transplanted MSCs differentiation may be controlled by bFGF in the rats.