Engraftment of human nasal olfactory stem cells restores neuroplasticity in mice with hippocampal lesions.

ABSTRACT: Stem cell-based therapy has been proposed as a potential means of treatment for a variety of brain disorders. Because ethical and technical issues have so far limited the clinical translation of research using embryonic/fetal cells and neural tissue, respectively, the search for alternative sources of therapeutic stem cells remains ongoing. Here, we report that upon transplantation into mice with chemically induced hippocampal lesions, human olfactory ecto-mesenchymal stem cells (OE-MSCs) - adult stem cells from human nasal olfactory lamina propria - migrated toward the sites of neural damage, where they differentiated into neurons. Additionally, transplanted OE-MSCs stimulated endogenous neurogenesis, restored synaptic transmission, and enhanced long-term potentiation. Mice that received

SUBMITTER: Nivet E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3223823 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature