The Restorative Effect of Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells on Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition within the neural system which is clinically manifested by sensory-motor dysfunction, leading, in some cases, to neural paralysis for the rest of the patient’s life. In the current study, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were isolated from the human amniotic fluid, in order to study their juxtacrine and paracrine activities. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to identify the MSCs. A conditioned medium (CM) was collected to measure the level of BDNF, IL-1β, and IL-6 proteins using the ELISA assay. Following the SCI induction, MSCs and CM were injected into the lesion site, and also CM was infused intraperitoneally in the different groups. Two weeks after SCI induction, the spinal cord samples were examined to evaluate the expression of the doublecortin (DCX) and glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) markers using immunofluorescence staining. The MSCs’ phenotype was confirmed upon the expression and un-expression of the related CD markers. Our results show that MSCs increased the expression level of the DCX and decreased the level of the GFAP relative to the injury group (p < 0.001). Additionally, the CM promoted the DCX expression rate (p < 0.001) and decreased the GFAP expression rate (p < 0.01) as compared with the injury group. Noteworthily, the restorative potential of the MSCs was higher than that of the CM (p < 0.01). Large-scale meta-analysis of transcriptomic data highlighted PAK5, ST8SIA3, and NRXN1 as positively coexpressed genes with DCX. These genes are involved in neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction. Overall, our data revealed that both therapeutic interventions could promote the regeneration and restoration of the damaged neural tissue by increasing the rate of neuroblasts and decreasing the astrocytes.

Human Neuromuscular Junction on a Chip: Impact of Amniotic Fluid Stem Cell Extracellular Vesicles on Muscle Atrophy and NMJ Integrity

“…In recent years, human AFSCs have been proposed as potential therapeutic approaches for human tissue repair and regeneration, thanks to the encouraging results obtained from different experimental disease models [14,15]. Many of the observed effects can be, at least in part, attributed to the presence of bioactive molecules secreted into extracellular vesicles (EVs), such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.…”

“…In recent years, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), including amniotic fluid stem cells (AFSCs), have been proposed as a potential therapy for human tissue repair and regeneration, given the encouraging evidence in different experimental neuromuscular disease models [14,15]. Moreover, recent studies demonstrated the potential of MSCs, isolated from different tissues (adipose, umbilical cord, and bone marrow), to induce muscle regeneration [16][17][18].…”