Abstract

Effects of Neural Stem Cell Transplantation on Differentiation of Dopaminergic Neurons in Substantia Nigra and Rotational Behavior Changes of Parkinson's Disease Rats

Author(s): Yi-YinWu, Jia-jia Xiao, Ze-Jian Wang, Xiao-Ping Wang

Objective
To explore the effects of neural stem cells (NSCs) transplantation on the differentiation of
substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic neurons and the rotational behavior on rat model of
Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Methods
Adult SD rats were randomly split into three groups of five: control, sham and transplanted
groups. 6-OHDA (2 μg/μl) was microinjected (8 μl) into the right medial forebrain bundle
(MFB) of sham and transplanted rats. Rats in the transplanted group were injected with 5 μl
NSCs suspension (5 × 104 cells/μl) into the right SN while an equal volume of PBS solution was
injected in the sham group.

Results
Eight weeks after transplantation, Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH-ir) neurons presented slight
somata and few dendrites, the levels of cell counting, protein synthesis and mRNA expression
were significantly decreased in both the sham and transplanted groups (p¼0.05). However,
compared with the sham group, the levels in the transplanted group increased (p¼0.05). Two
weeks after transplantation, the rotational behavior in the transplanted group significantly
was improved compared to pre-transplantation; this was also significantly different in the
eighth week (p¼0.05), and there were no significant improvement differences in the rotational
behavior in the sham group.

Conclusion
Transplanted NSCs are able to differentiate into SN dopaminergic neurons and
attenuate characteristic behaviors in rat model of PD.