Co-transplantation of NSCs with astrocytes or microglia decreases ischemic volume in rats after stroke.
(A) Representative brain slices stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium show lesion regions at 7 days after stroke. The normal area is red and the ischemic region is white. Compared with the control group, NSC-, NSC/microglia-, and NSC/astrocyte-treated rats had significantly smaller ischemic volumes. Notably, NSC/microglia-, and NSC/astrocyte-treated rats were less affected than NSC-treated rats. (B) Quantitative analysis of ischemic volume evaluated by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium staining. Data are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 5). **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 (one-way analysis of variance followed by a least significant difference test). Ctl: Ischemic rats treated with vehicle; NSCs: ischemic rats treated with NSCs; NSCs-astrocyte: ischemic rats treated with NSCs and astrocytes; NSCs-microglia: ischemic rats treated with NSCs and microglia.