Conclusions
We suggest that TMS at this intensity may cause an increase in glutamate levels, which promotes an unfavorable environment for stem cell implantation, proliferation and differentiation. It should be noted that only one paradigm of TMS was tested as this was conducted as a exploratory study, and further TMS paradigms should be investigated in the future.
Methods
Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and injected with 6 × 10(5) DPSC or control media via an intracranial injection, and then received real TMS (TMS0.2 Hz) or sham TMS (TMSsham) every 2nd day beginning on day 3 post DPSC injection for 2 weeks. Brain sections were analyzed for the survival, migration and differentiation characteristics of the implanted cells.
Results
In animals treated with DPSC and TMS0.2 Hz there were significantly less implanted DPSC and those that survived remained in the original cerebral hemisphere compared to animals that received TMSsham. The surviving implanted DPSC in TMS0.2 Hz were also found to express the apoptotic marker Caspase-3. Conclusions: We suggest that TMS at this intensity may cause an increase in glutamate levels, which promotes an unfavorable environment for stem cell implantation, proliferation and differentiation. It should be noted that only one paradigm of TMS was tested as this was conducted as a exploratory study, and further TMS paradigms should be investigated in the future.