Influence of Human Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Cerebrolysin Amelioration of Neurological Deficit Following Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Abstract
Background: Stroke results in disability and rapid brain damage. Many studies reported that stem cells may be con-sidered as a potential therapeutic strategy for treatment of strokes.
Aim of Study: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of adding human Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hUCB-MSCs) to cerebrolysin in improving the neurological function after stroke in rats.
Material and Methods: Rats randomly divided into four groups: Group 1: Control group, Group 2: Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) untreated group, Group 3: (I/R) cerebrolysin-treated group, and Group 4: (I/R) both cerebrolysin and stem cell treated group. After 4 weeks' animals were sacrificed, Malond-ialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Tumor Necrosis Factor-a  (TNF-a), nuclear factor kB (NF-kB), ACH E, and P-AKT levels were measured. Also brain sections were examined histopathologically for GFAP and caspase-3 activ-ities.
Results: hUCB-MSCs functioned as an effective stimulator for enhancing the neuroprotective effect of cerebrolysin through activation of the pro-survival protein Akt with subse-quent inhibition of the apoptotic signaling pathways. In addition, this combination can effectively inhibit intracellular ROS generation, inhibit neuro-inflammatory cytokines, reduce the infarct volume and improve the neurological deficits in the motor function.
Conclusion: This combination also showed improvement in histological and immunohistochemical pictures of the brain tissue.