RESUMEN
Objective To explore the effeteness of autologous transplantation of bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells in promoting the neovascularization and improving the neurological functional recovery in atherosclerotic rats with acute cerebral infarction. Methods Male Sprague-Dawley rat models of atherosclerosis were established by fat-rich diet feeding. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were obtained from bone marrow of all rats; the cells were cultured in vitro in Ml99 with VEGF, bFGF and EGF in it Assays were used to detect the expression of FLK-1 and CD34. on the 7th d, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat models were established by the method of thread thrombus. Three h after MCAO, all of the animals were randomized into experimental group (the autologous endothelial progenitor cells labeled with BrdU were injected into the carotid vein) and control group (same volume of PBS were injected into the carotid vein). Behavioral tests (modified neurological severity scale, mNSS) were performed 6 h and 1, 3, 7, 10 and 14 d after MCAO. Besides, immunohistochemical examinations were employed to observe the distribution of EPCs (labeled by BrdU) in the brain tissue and to measure the microvessel density. Results EPCs from bone marrow were isolated, induced and cultured successfully in vitro, which positively stained for FLK-1 by immunocytochemistry and partly positively expressed CD34 by immunofluorescence. The cells of FITC labeled UEA adsorption and DiL-acLDL internalization were positive under fluorescence confocal microscopy. These cells possessed robust proliferative potential and their number reached 5×106. On the 14th d, the neurological function recovery in the experimental group (mNSS scores: 6.13±0.30) was significantly improved as compared with that in the control group (mNSS scores: 8.50±0.46, P<0.05). On the 28th, some positive EPCs stained by BrdU were found in the experimental group and the numbers of blood vessels in the experimental group (16.87±5.52) were obviously larger than those in the control group (12.76±4.94,P<0.05). Conclusion EPCs from bone marrow can be autologously transplanted into the brain tissue of cerebral ischemia and survive. Cerebral ischemia can improve neurological functional recovery after MCAO, which were probably by promoting the neovascularization.
