Co-transplantation of GDNF-overexpressing neural stem cells and fetal dopaminergic neurons mitigates motor symptoms in a rat model of Parkinson's disease.

ABSTRACT: Striatal transplantation of dopaminergic (DA) neurons or neural stem cells (NSCs) has been reported to improve the symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), but the low rate of cell survival, differentiation, and integration in the host brain limits the therapeutic efficacy. We investigated the therapeutic effects of intracranial co-transplantation of mesencephalic NSCs stably overexpressing human glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF-mNSCs) together with fetal DA neurons in the 6-OHDA rat model of PD. Striatal injection of mNSCs labeled by the contrast enhancer superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) resulted in a hypointense signal in the striatum on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images that lasted for at least 8 weeks post-injection, confirming the long-term survival of injected stem cells i

SUBMITTER: Deng X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3849044 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature