The Effect of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Nestin and Gene Expression and Spatial Learning (Percent Alternation Y-Maze Test) against AlCl-Induced Alzheimer's-like Pathology in a Rat Model.

BACKGROUND

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by gradual cognitive impairment, including loss of synapses and nerve cells involved in learning, memory, and habit formation processes. Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BM-MSCs) are multipotent cells. Because of their self-renewable, differentiation, and immunomodulatory capabilities, they are commonly used to treat many disorders. Hence, the current study intends to examine the effect of BM-MSCs transplantation on Aluminum chloride (AlCl)-induced cognitive problems, an experimental model resembling AD's hallmarks in rats.

METHODS

The study was conducted in 2022 at The Biomedical Laboratory Faculty of Medicine, Andalas University, Indonesia. Adult male Wistar rats (three groups: negative control; no intervention+treatment with PBS; positive control: AlCl+treatment with aqua dest; AlCl+BM-MSCs: AlCl+treatment with BM-MSCs, n=5 each) were treated daily with AlCl orally for five days. Stem cells were intraperitoneally injected into rats at a dose of 1x10 cells/rat. The same quantity of phosphate-buffered saline was given to the control group. One month after stem cell injection, the rat brain tissue was removed and placed in the film bottles that had been created. The expression of neural progenitor cell markers, including nestin and sex-determining Y-box 2 (SOX-2), was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Rats' cognitive and functional memory were examined using Y-maze. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 26.0) with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

RESULTS

The gene expression of nestin (29.74±0.42), SOX-2 (31.44±0.67), and percent alternation of Y-maze (67.04±2.28) increased in the AlCl+BM-MSCs group compared to that in the positive control group. RT-PCR analysis indicated that nestin (P<0.001) and SOX-2 (P<0.001) were significantly enhanced in the AlCl+BM-MSCs group compared to the positive control group. This group also indicated an increased percent alternation of Y-maze (P<0.001) in the AlCl+BM-MSCs group compared to the positive control group.

CONCLUSION

Due to its potential effects on cell therapy, BM-MSCs were found effective in a rat model of AD on the impairment of the rats' behavior and increased expression of neural progenitor cell markers.