Efficacy of Human Cell-Seeded Muscle-Stuffed Vein Conduit in Rat Sciatic Nerve Repair.

We investigated the efficacy of a muscle-stuffed vein (MSV) seeded with neural-transdifferentiated human mesenchymal stem cells as an alternative nerve conduit to repair a 15-mm sciatic nerve defect in athymic rats. Other rats received MSV conduit alone, commercial polyglycolic acid conduit (Neurotube), reverse autograft, or were left untreated. Motor and sensory functions as well as nerve conductivity were evaluated for 12 weeks, after which the grafts were harvested for histological analyses.

Human bone marrow-derived MSCs spontaneously express specific Schwann cell markers.

In peripheral nerve injuries, Schwann cells (SC) play pivotal roles in regenerating damaged nerve. However, the use of SC in clinical cell-based therapy is hampered due to its limited availability. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of using an established induction protocol for human bone marrow derived-MSC (hBM-MSCs) transdifferentiation into a SC lineage.

Defects in nerve conduction velocity and different muscle fibre-type specificity contribute to muscle weakness in Ts1Cje Down syndrome mouse model.

Background: Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder caused by presence of extra copy of human chromosome 21. It is characterised by several clinical phenotypes. Motor dysfunction due to hypotonia is commonly seen in individuals with DS and its etiology is yet unknown.