Therapeutic potential of conditioned medium derived from oligodendrocytes cultured in a self-assembling peptide nanoscaffold in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

The use of neurotrophic factors is considered to be a novel therapeutic approach for restoring and/or maintaining neurological function in neurodegenerative disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Various studies have shown that conditioned medium produced by oligodendrocyte (OL-CM) contain a variety of neurotrophic factors. Here, we investigated the restorative effects of OL-CM, collected from oligodendrocytes cultured in a self-assembling peptide hydrogels scaffold (PuraMatrix), in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mouse model. Neural stem/progenitor cells, isolated from the embryonic mouse brain, were cultured and differentiated into oligodendrocyte. Cell viability and proliferation of oligodendrocytes were assessed by live/dead and MTT assays. Motor functions, myelination, cell infiltration, gliosis, and inflammatory process were assessed in EAE mice after intracranial injection of OL-CM at different concentrations. Application of OL-CM improved clinical score and neurological function in EAE mice and reduced the inflammatory cell infiltration and demyelination. Furthermore, administration of OL-CM reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and suppressed the activation of NLRP3-inflammasome complex in EAE mice. These data suggest the potential therapeutic effect of OL-CM for MS treatment.