Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4.3
Porcine CP epithelial clusters, stained with ZO-1.
4.9 Encapsulated Xenogeneic Choroid Plexus
Transplants for Stroke Therapy
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and a leading health care burden in devel-
oped countries. There are no effective treatments for mitigating the neuronal loss fol-
lowing stroke, although neural transplantation may be one means of repairing the
stroke-ravaged brain. Delivery of therapeutic molecules via cell transplantation soon
after stroke might be useful for reducing or preventing the disease pathology. Based
on these considerations, isolated CP obtained from rodents was tested for its neu-
roprotective effects in a conventional rodent model of stroke
[1,4]
. Rats received a
1-hour middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion immediately followed by transplan-
tation of alginate-encapsulated CP on the cortex overlying the brain region (striatum)
that would be normally infarcted following the MCA occlusion. Behavioral testing
on days 1-3 following surgery, using the elevated body swing test and Bederson
neurological examination, revealed profound motor and neurological impairments
in control animals that were significantly improved in animals receiving alginate-
encapsulated CP transplants. Histological analysis revealed that the behavioral
improvements were accompanied by a significant decrease (
35-40%) in the vol-
ume of striatal infarction. This paradigm might have actually underestimated the ther-
apeutic potential of CP grafts, as the therapeutic molecules were required to diffuse
out of the capsules and through several millimeters of cortical tissue. Accordingly,
the concentration of the cocktail reaching the infarcted region was modest compared
to local concentrations. Future studies should carefully consider alternative transplant
sites as well as the possibility of using single-cell suspensions of epithelial cells to
potentially augment the benefits obtained to date.
