Abstract
Because of their ability for self-renewal and neural differentiation, stem cells are believed to be ideal for cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD). Nanofiber-expanded human umbilical cord hematopoietic stem cells (HUHSCs) are advantageous to other stem cells as they provide a source of unlimited stem cell production for clinical application. In this study, we investigated whether 1. nanofiber-expanded HUHSCs are capable of neural differentiation in vitro, and 2. they could improve dopaminergic neuron morphology in the caudate/putamen (CPu) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of the MPTP-mouse model of PD. When cultured under neural differentiation conditions, nanofiber-expanded HUHSCs were able to undergo neural differentiation in vitro, as determined by gene and protein expression of neural markers such as MAP2, NeuN, HuC, GFAP and Oligo2. Thirty days after a single intracardioventricular injection of HUHSCs to MPTP-mice there was a significant recovery of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunostaining in CPu. There was an increase in the size and staining density of TH+ cells in SNc, while their number was unchanged.