Neurobiol Aging. 2016 Nov;47:192-200. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.08.002. Epub 2016 Aug 12.

Distribution of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) in canines after intracerebroventricular injection.

Park SE¹, Jung NY², Lee NK³, Lee J³, Hyung B⁴, Myeong SH³, Kim HS³, Suh YL⁵, Lee JI⁶, Cho KR⁶, Kim DH⁷, Choi SJ⁸, Chang JW⁹, Na DL¹⁰.

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the distribution of human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) administered via intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection in a canine model. Ten beagles (11-13 kg per beagle) each received an injection of 1 × 10⁶ cells into the right lateral ventricle and were sacrificed 7 days after administration. Based on immunohistochemical analysis, hUCB-MSCs were observed in the brain parenchyma, especially along the lateral ventricular walls. Detected as far as 3.5 mm from the cortical surface, these cells migrated from the lateral ventricle toward the cortex. We also observed hUCB-MSCs in the hippocampus and the cervical spinal cord. According to real-time polymerase chain reaction results, most of the hUCB-MSCs were found distributed in the brain and the cervical spinal cord but not in the lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen, and liver. ICV administered hUCB-MSCs also enhanced the endogenous neural stem cell population in the subventricular zone. These results highlighted the ICV delivery route as an optimal route to be performed in stem cell-based clinical therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.