The Impact of Oxidative Stress Factors on the Viability, Senescence, and Methylation Status of Olfactory Bulb-Derived Glial Cells Isolated from Human Cadaver Donors

Abstract

The olfactory bulb (OB) is a unique structure in the central nervous system that retains the ability to create new neuronal connections. Glial cells isolated from the OB have been recently considered as a novel and promising tool to establish an effective therapy for central nervous system injuries. Due to the hindered access to autologous tissue for cell isolation, an allogeneic source of tissues obtained postmortem has been proposed. In this study, we focused on the morphological and molecular characteristics of human OB-derived glial cells isolated postmortem, at different time points after a donor's death. We evaluated the proliferative activity of the isolated cells, and investigated the ultrastructure of the mitochondria, the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, and the activity of superoxide dismutase. The data obtained clearly indicate that the duration of ischemia is crucial for the viability/senescence rate of OB-derived glial cells. The OB can be isolated during autopsy and still stand as a source of viable glial cells, but ischemia duration is a major factor limiting its potential usefulness in therapies.