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Immediate and delayed transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells improve muscle force after skeletal muscle injury in rats
Author(s) -
Winkler Tobias,
Roth Philipp,
Radojewski Piotr,
Urbanski Alexander,
Hahn Sebastian,
Preininger Bernd,
Duda Georg N.,
Perka Carsten
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.835
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-7005
pISSN - 1932-6254
DOI - 10.1002/term.1542
Subject(s) - transplantation , mesenchymal stem cell , medicine , skeletal muscle , surgery , urology , anatomy , pathology
Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy is a promising approach for regaining muscle function after trauma. Prior to clinical application, the ideal time of transplantation has to be determined. We investigated the effects of immediate and delayed transplantation. Sprague–Dawley rats received a crush trauma to the left soleus muscle. Treatment groups were transplanted locally with 2 × 10 6 autologous MSCs, either immediately or 7 days after trauma. Saline was used as sham therapy. Contraction force tests and histological analyses were performed 4 weeks after injury. GFP‐labelled MSCs were followed after transplantation. The traumatized soleus muscles of the sham group displayed a reduction of twitch forces to 36 ± 17% and of tetanic forces to 29 ± 11% of the non‐injured right control side, respectively. Delayed MSC transplantation resulted in a significant improvement of contraction maxima in both stimulation modes (twitch, p = 0.011; tetany, p = 0.014). Immediate transplantation showed a significant increase in twitch forces to 59 ± 17% ( p = 0.043). There was no significant difference in contraction forces between muscles treated by immediate and delayed cell transplantation. We were able to identify MSCs in the interstitium of the injured muscles up to 4 weeks after transplantation. Despite the fundamental differences of the local environment, which MSCs encounter after transplantation, similar results could be obtained with respect to functional muscle regeneration. We believe that transplanted MSCs residing in the interstitial compartment evolve their regenerative capabilities through paracrine pathways. Our data suggest a large time window of the therapeutical measures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.