Intravenous Injection of Human Umbilical Cord Matrix Stem Cell (Wharton Jelly Stem Cell) Provides Functional Recovery in a Rat Model of Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: This study was designed to examine the effects of human umbilical cord matrix stem cell (hUCMSC) administration in rats for 6 weeks after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Materials and Methods: Adult male Wistar rats (n = 30) were injured with controlled corti- cal impact device and divided into three groups. The treatment group (n = 10) was injected with 2 × 106 hUCMSC intravenously, the vehicle group (n=10) received phosphate buff- ered saline (PBS) whereas the control group (n = 10) receive nothing. All injections were performed one day after injury into the tail veins of the rats. All cells were labelled with Brdu before injection. Evaluation of the neurological function of the rats was performed before and after injury using Neurological Severity Scores (NSS). The rats were sacrificed 6 weeks after TBI and brain sections were stained using Brdu immunohistochemistry. Results: Statistically significant improvement in functional outcome was observed in the treatment group compared with the control group (p < 0.01). This benefit was visible 1 week after TBI and persisted for six weeks (end of trial). Histological analysis showed that hUC- MSC were present in the lesion boundary zone at 6 weeks in all cell injected animals. Conclusion: Rats injected with hUCMSC after TBI survive for at least six weeks and show functional improvemnt.