Autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells enhance recovery after acute ischemic stroke in young and middle-aged rats

We investigated intra-arterially administered autologous bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNCs) in rats with acute ischemic stroke. Long Evans rats (2 to 3 months or 12 months old) underwent tandem reversible common carotid artery (CCA)/middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion (CCAo/MCAo) for 3 h and then 24 h later underwent tibial bone marrow harvest. Ten million or 4 million cells were re-injected by an intra-carotid infusion. Control animals underwent marrow needle insertion and then saline injection into the carotid artery. Animals were assessed on a battery of neurological tests. MNCs in the ischemic brain were tracked using Q-dot nanocrystal labeling. Infarct volume and cytokines in the ischemia-affected brain were analyzed. Cell-treated animals in the younger and older groups showed improvement from 7 to 30 days after stroke compared with vehicle-treated animals. MNCs significantly reduced infarct volume compared with saline. There was a significant reduction in tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1α (IL-1α), IL-β, IL-6, and a significant increase in IL-10 in injured brains harvested from the cell-treated groups compared with saline controls. Labeled MNCs were found in the peri-infarcted area at 1 h and exponentially decreased over the ensuing week after injection. Autologous bone marrow MNCs can be safely harvested from rodents after stroke, migrate to the peri-infarct area, enhance recovery, and modulate the post-ischemic inflammatory response.