FIG. 7.

Effects of MSCs on glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)–expressing progenitors. Rats with MCAO received intra-carotid infusion of 1 million monolayer or 3D spheroid hMSCs or equal volume of vehicle PBS 24 h after MCAO. (A, B) Immunofluorescence stain of coronal sections of the brain 3 days after cell transplantation showed a broader boundary zone (BZ) of GFAP-expressing cells around the infarct in rats treated with 3D spheroid hMSCs, compared with rats treated with monolayer (mono) hMSCs, or PBS [(A, B), n=5, **P<0.01]. The GFAP⁺ cells in the BZ in 3D-hMSC-treated rats were in higher density and formed clusters invading into the infarct (A). Double stain showed that most GFAP-expressing cells were also positive for nestin (A). (C, D) Rats received intraperitoneal injection of BrdU at 50 mg/kg body weight daily from the day of surgery until the day before sacrifice. Immunofluorescence stain of brain tissue sections 3 days post-cell transplantation with antibodies against 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) and GFAP showed higher levels of GFAP⁺/BrdU⁺ proliferating cells in rats transplanted with spheroid hMSCs, compared with rats treated with PBS (n=5, **P<0.01) or with monolayer hMSCs (n=5, **P<0.01). Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/scd