Effect of exosomes derived from multipluripotent mesenchymal stromal cells on functional recovery and neurovascular plasticity in rats after traumatic brain injury

By Yanlu Zhang, Michael Chopp, Yuling Meng, M. Katakowski, Hongqi Xin, A. Mahmood, Y. Xiong. Journal of Neurosurgery, 2015

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Object Transplanted multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) improve functional recovery in rats after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Here, we test a novel hypothesis that systemic administration of cell-free exosomes generated from MSCs promotes functional recovery and neurovascular remodeling in rats after TBI. Methods Wistar rats were subjected to TBI followed by tail vein injection of 100 μg protein of exosomes derived from MSCs or an equal volume of vehicle phosphate-buffered saline (n = 8/group) 24 hours later. To evaluate cognitive and sensorimotor functional recovery, the modified Morris water maze, neurological severity score and footfault tests were performed. Animals were sacrificed at 35 days after TBI. Histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed for measurements of lesion volume, neurovascular remodeling (angiogenesis and neurogenesis), and neuroinflammation. Results Compared with saline-treated controls, exosome-treated TBI rats showed significant improvement in spatial learning at 34-35 days measured by the Morris water maze test (p < 0.05), and sensorimotor functional recovery, i.e., reduced neurological deficits and footfault frequency, observed at 14-35 days post injury (p < 0.05). Exosome treatment significantly increased the number of newborn endothelial cells in the lesion boundary zone and dentate gyrus, and significantly increased the number of newborn immature and mature neurons in the dentate gyrus as well as reduced neuroinflammation. Conclusions We, for the first time, demonstrate that MSC-generated exosomes effectively improve functional recovery, at least in part, by promoting endogenous angiogenesis and neurogenesis and reducing inflammation in rats after TBI. Thus, MSC-generated exosomes may provide a novel cell-free therapy for TBI and possibly other neurological diseases.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Genetics, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/d2d889b3ea75e398d191a1f19af2745e6f2c506f

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