Department of Neurology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, 321 Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, PR China.
Curr Neurovasc Res. 2012 Nov;9(4):250-5. doi: 10.2174/156720212803530708.
Stem cell transplantation is a promising therapy for neuromyelitis optica (NMO). Among stem cell varieties, human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) possess many advantages, add a differential potential into neural cells, secrete a set of trophic factors and cytokines, regulate immunological function, and have therapeutic potential for neurological diseases. In this study, hUC-MSCs transplantation was used to treat five NMO patients with follow-up for 18 months including evaluation of Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) levels, clinical course, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics, adverse events, and so on. Among the five cases, four showed therapeutic improvement after hUC-MSCs treatment. Both symptoms and signs improved and relapse frequencies were reduced. MRI characteristics also showed decreased volume and severity of lesions, while few adverse events occurred. The results suggest that hUC-MSCs transplantation appear safe and might be effective for NMO treatment in the near future. In addition, according to flow cytometry assay (FACS) results, B cells of blood were inhibited while T cells increased after treatment, indicating an immune-related mechanism.
干细胞移植是治疗视神经脊髓炎（NMO）的一种很有前途的疗法。在干细胞种类中，人脐带间充质干细胞（hUC-MSCs）具有许多优势，能分化为神经细胞，分泌一系列营养因子和细胞因子，调节免疫功能，对神经疾病具有治疗潜力。在这项研究中，采用 hUC-MSCs 移植治疗 5 例 NMO 患者，随访 18 个月，包括评估扩展残疾状况量表（EDSS）水平、临床病程、磁共振成像（MRI）特征、不良事件等。在这 5 例患者中，有 4 例在 hUC-MSCs 治疗后显示出治疗改善。症状和体征均有所改善，复发频率降低。MRI 特征也显示病变体积和严重程度降低，而不良事件发生较少。结果表明，hUC-MSCs 移植似乎是安全的，并且在不久的将来可能对 NMO 的治疗有效。此外，根据流式细胞术（FACS）检测结果，治疗后血液中的 B 细胞受到抑制，而 T 细胞增加，表明存在免疫相关机制。
