High density placental mesenchymal stromal cells provide neuronal preservation and improve motor function following in utero treatment of ovine myelomeningocele
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Oct 2018 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
This ovine study demonstrates that placental mesenchymal stromal cells seeded on extracellular matrix during in utero myelomeningocele repair significantly improve motor function and preserve spinal cord neurons compared to matrix alone. Higher cell seeding densities (250-300K cells/cm²) correlated with increased neuronal density and better locomotor outcomes, supporting cell-based therapy as an adjunct to fetal MMC repair.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine whether seeding density of placental mesenchymal stromal cells (PMSCs) on extracellular matrix (ECM) during in utero repair of myelomeningocele (MMC) affects motor function and neuronal preservation in the ovine model.
Methods
MMC defects were surgically created in 33 fetuses and repaired following randomization into four treatment groups: ECM only (n = 10), PMSC-ECM (42 K cells/cm2) (n = 8), PMSC-ECM (167 K cells/cm2) (n = 7), or PMSC-ECM (250–300 K cells/cm2) (n = 8). Motor function was evaluated using the Sheep Locomotor Rating Scale (SLR). Serial sections of the lumbar spinal cord were analyzed by measuring their cross-sectional areas which were then normalized to normal lambs. Large neurons (LN, diameter 30–70 μm) were counted manually and density calculated per mm2 gray matter.
Results
Lambs treated with PMSCs at any density had a higher median SLR score (15 [IQR 13.5–15]) than ECM alone (6.5 [IQR 4–12.75], p = 0.036). Cross-sectional areas of spinal cord and gray matter were highest in the PMSC-ECM (167 K/cm2) group (p = 0.002 and 0.006, respectively). LN density was highest in the greatest density PMSC-ECM (250–300 K/cm2) group (p = 0.045) which positively correlated with SLR score (r = 0.807, p