Effects of interstitial edema on brain cell transplantation.

Fetal raphe cells were transplanted into the anterior part of the corpus callosum of serotonin denervated hydrocephalic rats using a cell suspension method. Hydrocephalus was induced by intracisternal injection of kaolin. The survival of the transplanted cells and fiber outgrowth were evaluated according to the level of serotonin and its metabolite, hydroxyindoleacetic acid, using high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection in the anterior and posterior parts of the corpus callosum 1-2, 5-6, and 7-8 weeks after transplantation. The results suggest favorable effects of interstitial edema associated with hydrocephalus on the survival of transplanted raphe cells and fiber outgrowth.