Department of Histology and Embryology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Guangdong Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.
Exp Neurol. 2017 Jun;292:92-101. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2017.03.005. Epub 2017 Mar 7.
Peripheral nerve injury repair can be enhanced by Schwann cell (SC) transplantation, but clinical applications are limited by the lack of a cell source. Thus, alternative systems for generating SCs are desired. Herein, we found the peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (PBMSCs) could be induced into SC like cells with expressing SC-specific markers (S100, P75NTR and CNPase) and functional factors (NGF, NT-3, c-Fos, and Krox20). When the induced PBMSCs (iPBMSCs) were transplanted into crushed rat sciatic nerves, they functioned as SCs by wrapping the injured axons and expressing myelin specific marker of MBP. Furthermore, iPBMSCs seeded in an artificial nerve conduit to bridge a 10-mm defect in a sciatic nerve achieved significant nerve regeneration outcomes, including axonal regeneration and remyelination, nerve conduction recovery, and restoration of motor function, and attenuated myoatrophy and neuromuscular junction degeneration in the target muscle. Overall, the data from this study indicated that PBMSCs can transdifferentiate towards SC-like cells and have potential as grafting cells for nerve tissue engineering.
外周神经损伤的修复可以通过施万细胞（Schwann cell，SC）移植来增强，但由于缺乏细胞来源，其临床应用受到限制。因此，需要寻找替代的 SC 生成系统。本研究发现，外周血源性间充质干细胞（peripheral blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells，PBMSCs）可在表达 SC 特异性标志物（S100、P75NTR 和 CNPase）和功能因子（NGF、NT-3、c-Fos 和 Krox20）的情况下诱导分化为 SC 样细胞。将诱导的 PBMSCs（induced PBMSCs，iPBMSCs）移植到大鼠坐骨神经挤压伤模型中后，iPBMSCs 可通过包裹损伤的轴突并表达髓鞘特异性标志物 MBP 发挥 SC 的功能。此外，iPBMSCs 接种到人工神经导管中以桥接 10mm 的坐骨神经缺损，可实现显著的神经再生效果，包括轴突再生和髓鞘形成、神经传导恢复以及运动功能的恢复，并减轻靶肌肉的肌萎缩和运动终板退化。总之，本研究数据表明，PBMSCs 可以向 SC 样细胞转分化，有望作为神经组织工程的移植细胞。
