Cellular response of mesenchymal stem cells transplanted into spinal cord injury

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their cellular response to various stimuli have been characterized in great detail in culture conditions. In contrast, the cellular response of MSCs in an in vivo setting is still uncharted territory. In this study, we investigated the cellular response of MSCs following transplantation into spinal cord injury (SCI).Mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs were transplanted 24h following severe contusion SCI in mice. As controls, MSCs transplanted to uninjured spinal cord and non-transplanted MSCs were used. At seven days post transplantation, the MSCs were isolated from the SCI, and their global transcriptional changes investigated using RNA-sequencing. We found that MSCs transplanted into SCI down-regulate their response to cytokines, tendency to adhere and to undergo phagocytosis but up-regulate their ability to repair DNA and proliferate. Overall design: Evaluation of transcriptional changes in transplanted mesenchymal stem cells.

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Hakim R, Covacu R, Zachariadis V, Frostell A, Sankavaram SR, Brundin L, Svensson M