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59th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)
3rd Joint Meeting with the Italian Neurosurgical Society (SINch)

German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)

1 - 4 June 2008, Würzburg

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Skin-derived stem cells transplantation and axonal regeneration after peripheral nerve lesion

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  • corresponding author M. Pluderi - Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • S. Borsa - Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • F. Costa - Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • C. Marchesi - Neurology and Stem Cell Laboratory, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • Y. Torrente - Neurology and Stem Cell Laboratory, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • D. Spagnoli - Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • S. Gatti - Center for Preclinical Investigation, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • S. M. Gaini - Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy
  • N. Grimoldi - Neurosurgery, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico-Mangiagalli e Regina Elena of Milan, Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Milan, Italy

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. Società Italiana di Neurochirurgia. 59. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie e.V. (DGNC), 3. Joint Meeting mit der Italienischen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (SINch). Würzburg, 01.-04.06.2008. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2008. DocDI.04.02

The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.egms.de/en/meetings/dgnc2008/08dgnc168.shtml

Published: May 30, 2008

© 2008 Pluderi et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Objective: The regeneration in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is often incomplete and the treatment of severe lesions with nerve tissue loss is primarily aimed at recreating nerve continuity. Guide tubes of various types, filled with Schwann cells, stem cells, or nerve growth factors are attractive as an alternative therapy of nerve grafts. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Skin Derived Stem Cells (SDSCs) can improve the axonal regeneration in a model of sciatic nerve transection in adult rats.

Methods: Sciatic nerves of adult rats were microsurgically lesioned and a 15 mm gap was produced. Peripheral nerve regeneration was evaluated after autologous transplantation of GFP-labeled SDSCs into two different types of guides: a polymeric tube obtained by copolymeralization of L-lactide and trimethylenecarbonate (PLA-TMC) or a collagen-based guide.

Results: Functional recovery evaluated with the Sciatic Functional Index and the recovery rates of the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) were significantly higher in the animals that received SDSCs transplantation, in particular into the collagen guide, compared to the control guides filled only with PBS. In these guides the morphological and immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated an increased number of myelinated axons expressing S100 and Neurofilament 70 suggesting the presence of regenerating nerve fibers into the nerve gap. GFP positive cells were found around regenerating nerve fibers and few of them were positive for the expression of the glial markers as S-100 and GFAP.

Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis that SDSCs could represent a possible tool for future cell therapy in peripheral nerve lesions.