Transplantation of human bone marrow stem cells into symptomatic ALS mice enhanced structural and functional blood-spinal cord barrier repair

Accumulating evidence shows alterations in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and blood-spinal cord barrier (BSCB) in ALS patients and in animal models of disease, mainly by endothelial cell (EC) damage. Repair of the altered barrier in the CNS by replacement of ECs via cell transplantation may be a new therapeutic approach for ALS. Recently, we demonstrated positive effects towards BSCB repair by intravenous administration of unmodified human bone marrow CD34+ (hBM34+) cells at different doses into symptomatic ALS mice. However, particular benefits of these transplanted cells on microvascular integrity in symptomatic ALS mice are still unclear. The aim of the present study was to determine the structural and functional spinal cord capillary integrity in symptomatic ALS mice after intravenous administration of hBM34+ cells. The G93A mice at 13 weeks of age intravenously received one of three different cell doses (5 × 104, 5 × 105, or 1 × 106) and were euthanized at 17 weeks of age (4 weeks post-transplant). Control groups were media-treated and non-carrier mutant SOD1 gene mice. Capillary ultrastructural (electron microscopy), immunohistochemical (laminin and HuNu), and histological (myelin and capillary density) analyses were performed in the cervical and lumbar spinal cords. Capillary permeability in the spinal cords was determined by Evans Blue (EB) injection. Results showed significant restoration of ultrastructural capillary morphology, improvement of basement membrane integrity, enhancement of axonal myelin coherence, and stabilization of capillary density in the spinal cords primarily of ALS mice receiving the high dose of 1 × 106 cells. Moreover, substantial reduction of parenchymal EB levels was determined in these mice, confirming our previous results on capillary permeability. Additionally, transplanted cells were detected in blood smears of sacrificed late symptomatic mice by HuNu marker. Altogether, these results provide novel evidence that unmodified bone marrow hematopoietic stem cell treatment at optimal dose might be beneficial for structural and functional repair of the damaged BSCB in advanced stage of ALS potentially resulting in delayed disease progression by increased motor neuron survival.