OBJECTIVE To study the protective effects of Schwann cell derived neurotrophic factor (SDNF) on motoneurons of spinal anterior horn from spinal root avulsion induced cell death. METHODS Twenty SD rats were made the animal model of C6.7 spinal root avulsion induced motoneuron degeneration, and SDNF was applied at the lesion site of spinal cord once a week. After three weeks, the C6.7 spinal region was dissected out for motoneuron count, morphological analysis and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) enzyme histochemistry. RESULTS 68.6% motoneurons of spinal anterior horn death were occurred after 3 weeks following surgery, the size of survivors was significantly atrophy and NOS positive neurons increased. However, in animals which received SDNF treatment, the death of motoneurons was significantly decreased, the atrophy of surviving motoneurons was prevented, and expression of NOS was inhibited. CONCLUSION SDNF can prevent the death of motoneurons following spinal root avulsion. Nitric oxide may play a role in these injury induced motoneuron death.
Schwann cells (SC) play an important role in nerve regeneration. The cultures of both human and rabbit SC (gt;99%) were obtained, and were separately derived from the sciatic nerve of the human fetus and the rabbit respectively by "the method of reexplantation". In addition, the cryostore and resuscitation of SC were carried out, and the resuscitated cells could retain their growth properties.
Objective To research the protective effects of different allogeneic cells injected into denervated muscles on ventricornual motor neuron. Methods Thirty-six adult female SD rats, weighting 120-150 g, were individed into four groups randomly and each group had nine. Left ischiadic nerves of all the SD rats, which were cut down on germfree conditions,were operated by primary suture of epineurium. Different cells were injected into the triceps muscles of calf in each group after operation with once a week for 4 weeks:1 ml Schwann cells (1×106/ml) in group A, 1 ml mixed cells ofSchwann cells and myoblast cells (1∶1,1×106/ml) in group B, 1 ml extract from the mixed cells of Schwann cells, myoblast cells and endotheliocytes (1∶1∶1,1×106/ml)in group C,and 1 ml culture medium without FCS as control group(group D). The observation of enzymohistochemistry and C-Jun expression in the ventricornual motor neuron was made after three months of operation. Results After 3 months of operation, the expressions of C-Jun in groups A, B and C were superiorto that in group D; the number of neuron was more than that of group D. The expressions of C-Jun in the ventricornual motor neuron were as follows: 128.591±0.766 in group A, 116.729±0.778 in group B, 100.071±2.017 in group C and 144.648±2.083 in group D; showing statistically significant difference between groupsA, B, C and D(P＜0.01). Enzymohistochemistry showed the well outlined and wellstacked cell body of neuron in groups A, B and C, and illdefined boundary of cytoplasm and nucleus. There was statistically significant defference in enzyme activity of the ventricornual motor neuron between groups(P＜0.01). Conclusion All of the Schwann cells,mixed cells of Schwann cells with myoblast cells,and the extract from Schwann cells, myoblast cells and endotheliocytes can protect the ventricornual motor neuron. And the protectiveeffect of the extract from Schwann cells, myoblast cells and endotheliocytes is superior to that of Schwann cells and mixed cells.
The biomaterial, chitin, was used to create a nerve regeneration chamber for bridging healing experiment of sciatic nerve of rats having a defect of 12mm. The crude Schwann cells were introduced into the chambers in one group and the other group had no crude Schwann cells in the chamber and the results of the two groups were compared with those having the nerve defects bridged with skeletal muscles. The specimens were observed by macroscopic, microdissection. electrophysiologic testing, HRP retrograde labelling, histologic and electron microscopic examinations at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after the operation. The results showed that atthe 8th week, the regenerating nerve fibers from the cephalad ends had united with the fibers of the caudal ends of the divided nerves either the crude Schwanneclls were introduced or not, but the morphology of the regenerating nerve, the way of regeneration and the recovery of the function of the extremities were far superior in the group that no cruds Schwann cells had been introduced than those with crude Schwann cell introduced and those bridged by skeletal muscles.
Objective To construct chemically extracted acellular nerve allograft (CEANA) with Schwann cells (SCs) from different tissues and to compare the effect of repairing peripheral nerve defect. Methods Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and adi pose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were isolated and cultured from 3 4-week-old SD mice with weighing 80-120 g. BMSCs and ADSCs were induced to differentiated MSC (dMSC) and differentiated ADSC (dADSC) in vitro.dMSC and dADSC were identified by p75 protein and gl ial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). SCs were isolated and culturedfrom 10 3-day-old SD mice with weighing 6-8 g. CEANA were made from bilateral sciatic nerves of 20 adult Wistar mice with weighing 200-250 g. Forty adult SD mice were made the model of left sciatic nerve defect (15 mm) and divided into 5 groups (n=8 per group) according to CEANA with different sources of SCs: autografting (group A), acellular grafting with SCs (5 × 105) (group B), acellular grafting with dMSCs (5 × 105) (group C), acellular grafting with dADSCs (5 × 105) (group D), and acellular grafting alone (group E). Motor and sensory nerve recovery was assessed by Von Frey and tension of the triceps surae muscle testing 12 weeks after operation. Then wet weight recovery ratio of triceps surae muscles was measured and histomorphometric assessment of nerve grafts was evaluated. Results BMSCs and ADSCs did not express antigens CD34 and CD45, and expressed antigen CD90. BMSCs and ADSC were differentiated into similar morphous of SCs and confirmed by the detection of SCs-specific cellsurface markers. The mean 50% withdrawal threshold in groups A, B, C, D, and E was (13.8 ± 2.3), (15.4 ± 6.5), (16.9 ± 5.3), (16.3 ± 3.5), and (20.0 ± 5.3) g, showing significant difference between group A and group E (P lt; 0.01). The recovery of tension of the triceps surae muscle in groups A, B, C, D, and E was 87.0% ± 9.7%, 70.0% ± 6.6%, 69.0% ± 6.7%, 65.0% ± 9.8%, and 45.0%± 12.1%, showing significant differences between groups A, B, C, D, and group E (P lt; 0.05). No inflammatory reactionexisted around nerve graft. The histological observation indicated that the number of myel inated nerve fiber and the myel in sheath thickness in group E were significantly smaller than that in groups B, C, and D (P lt; 0.01). The fiber diameter of group B was significantly bigger than that of groups C and D (P lt; 0.05) Conclusion CEANA supplementing with dADSC has similar repair effect in peripheral nerve defect to supplementing with dMSC or SCs. dADSC, as an ideal seeding cell in nerve tissue engineering, can be benefit for treatment of peripheral nerve injuries.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Ginsenoside Rb1 on the proliferation of Schwann cell cultured. METHODS: The sciatic nerve from SD rats was cultured in vitro; 10 micrograms/ml, 20 micrograms/ml, 200 micrograms/ml and 1 mg/ml Ginsenoside Rb1 was applied on the fifth day of culture. The proliferation of Schwann cells of sciatic nerves was determined in different time by MTT assay and thymidine incorporation assay. RESULTS: 10 micrograms/ml of Ginsenoside Rb1 significantly induced Schwann cell proliferation better than DMEM cell culture medium, but higher concentrations of Ginsenoside Rb1 at 1 mg/ml significantly inhibited the proliferation of Schwann cells, whereas 200 micrograms/ml of Ginsenoside Rb1 had similar effects to DMEM culture medium. CONCLUSION: Ginsenoside Rb1 at the optimal concentration is effective on inducing the proliferation of Schwann cells, but at higher concentration is cytotoxic for Schwann cells.
ObjectiveTo systemically review the efficacy and safety of Schwann cells (SCs) or activated Schwann cells (ASCs) transplantation in the treatment of traumatic spinal-cord injury (TSCI) in rats models. MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) about the effects of SCs and ASCs transplantation for TSCI in rats were searched in PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 12, 2014), CBM, CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP from inception to December 2014. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 14 RCTs involving 510 rats were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that:compared with the control group, the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scores in the SCs or ASCs transplantation group were superior in 4 weeks (SMD=2.31, 95%CI 1.48 to 3.13, P<0.000 01), 8 weeks (SMD=3.93, 95%CI 3.06 to 4.81, P<0.000 01) and 12 weeks (SMD=6.15, 95%CI 4.30 to 8.00, P<0.000 01) after surgery. The BBB scores in the SCs or ASCs transplantation combined with other therapies group were also better in 4 weeks (SMD=1.06, 95%CI 0.44 to 1.68, P=0.000 8), 8 weeks (SMD=2.26, 95%CI 1.57 to 2.96, P<0.000 01) and 12 weeks (SMD=1.49, 95%CI 0.72 to 2.25, P<0.000 01) after surgery. Compared with the SCs group, the BBB score in the ASCs transplantation group were superior in 4 weeks (SMD=4.31, 95%CI 3.50 to 5.13, P<0.000 01) and 12 weeks (SMD=5.44, 95%CI 3.99 to 6.89, P<0.000 01) after surgery. No significant difference was found in mortality between the transplantation group and the control group. ConclusionCurrent evidence indicates that SCs and ASCs can promote the recovery of motor function in the rats with TSCI. More functional recoveries can be obtained in ASCs transplantation compared with SCs transplantation. Due to limited quality of the included studies, the above conclusion should be verified by conducting more large-scale, high quality RCTs.
Objective To review the research progress on the role of Schwann cells in regulating bone regeneration. MethodsThe domestic and foreign literature about the behavior of Schwann cells related to bone regeneration, multiple tissue repair ability, nutritional effects of their neurotrophic factor network, and their application in bone tissue engineering was extensively reviewed. ResultsAs a critical part of the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells regulate the expression level of various neurotrophic factors and growth factors through the paracrine effect, and participates in the tissue regeneration and differentiation process of non-neural tissues such as blood vessels and bone, reflecting the nutritional effect of neural-vascular-bone integration. ConclusionTaking full advantage of the multipotent differentiation ability of Schwann cells in nerve, blood vessel, and bone tissue regeneration may provide novel insights for clinical application of tissue engineered bone.
Objective Inducing human amniotic membrane mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) to Schwann cells-like cells (SCs-like cells) in vitro, and to evaluate the efficacy of transplantation of hAMSCs and SCs-like cells on nerves regeneration of the rat flaps. Methods hAMSCs were isolated from placenta via two-step digestion and cultured by using trypsin and collagenase, then identified them by flow cytometry assay and immunofluorescence staining. The 3rd generation of hAMSCs cultured for 6 days were induced to SCs-like cells in vitro; at 19 days after induction, the levels of S-100, p75, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) were detected by immunofluorescence staining, Western blot, and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR). The levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) were measured by ELISA in the supernatant of the 3rd generation of hAMSCs cultured for 6 days and the hAMSCs induced within 19 days. In addition, 75 female Sprague Dawley rats were taken to establish the rat denervated perforator flap model of the abdominal wall, and were divided into 3 groups (n=25). The 3rd generation of hAMSCs (1×106 cells) in the proliferation period of culturing for 6 days, the SCs-like cells (1×106 cells), and equal volume PBS were injected subcutaneously in the skin flap of the rat in groups A, B, and C, respectively. At 2, 5, 7, 9, and 14 days after transplantation, 5 rats in each group were killed to harvest the flap frozen sections and observe the positive expression of neurofilament heavy polypeptide antibody (NF-01) by immunofluorescence staining. Results The cells were identified as hAMSCs by flow cytometry assay and immunofluorescence staining. The results of immunofluorescence staining, Western blot, qPCR showed that the percentage of positive cells, protein expression, and gene relative expression of S-100, p75, and GFAP in SCs-like cells group were significantly higher than those in hAMSCs group (P<0.05). The results of ELISA demonstrated that the expression of BDNF and NGF was significantly decreased after added induced liquid 1, and the level of BDNF and NGF increased gradually with the induction of liquids 2 and 3, and the concentration of BDNF and NGF was significantly higher than that of hAMSCs group (P<0.05). Immunofluorescence staining showed that the number of regenerated nerve fibers in group B was higher than that in groups A and C after 5-14 days of transplantation. Conclusion The hAMSCs can be induced into SCs-like cells with the proper chemical factor regulation in vitro, and a large number of promoting nerve growth factor were released during the process of differentiation, and nerve regeneration in flaps being transplanted the SCs-like cells was better than that in flaps being transplanted the hAMSCs, which through a large number of BDNF and NGF were released.
Objective To evaluate the effect of Schwann cell (SC) on the proliferation of marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and provide evidence for application of SC in construction of the tissue engineered vessels.Methods SC and MSCs were harvested from SD rats(weight 40 g). SC were verified immunohstochemically by the S-100 staining, and MSCs were verified by CD 44, CD 105, CD 34 and CD 45. The 3rd passages of both the cells were cocultured in the Transwell system and were amounted by the 3H-TDR integration technique at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days,respectively. The results were expressed by the CPM(counts per minute, CPM) values. However, MSCs on both the layers were served as the controls. The Westernblot was performed to assess the expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), its receptor Flk-1, and the associated receptor neuropilin 1(NRP-1) in SC, the trial cells, and the controls. Results SC had a spindle shape in the flasks, and more than 90% of SC had a positive reaction for the S-100 staining.MSCs expressed CD44 and CD105, and had a negativesignal in CD 34 and CD 45. The CPM values of MSCs in the trial groups were 2 411.00±270.84，3 016.17±241.57，6 570.83±2 848.27 and 6 375.8±1 431.28at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days, respectively. They were significantly higher in their values than the control group (2 142.17±531.63，2 603.33±389.64，2 707.50±328.55，2 389.00±908.01), especially at 5 days （P＜0.05）. The Western blot indicated that VEGF was expressedobviously in both the SC group and the cocultured MSCs grou,p and was less visible in the control cells. The expressions of Flk-1 and NRP-1 inthe cocultured MSCs were much ber than in the controls. Conclusion SC can significantly promote the proliferation of MSCs when they are cocultured. The peak time of the proliferation effect appeared at 5 days. This effect may be triggered by the up-regulation of VEGF in MSCs, which also leads to the upregulation of Flk-1 and NRP-1 .