Behavioral and histological characterization of intrahippocampal grafts of human bone marrow-derived multipotent progenitor cells in neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic injury.

Children born with hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury account for a significant number of live births wherein no clinical treatment is available. Limited clinical trials of stem cell therapy have been initiated in a number of neurological disorders, but the preclinical evidence of a cell-based therapy for neonatal HI injury remains in its infancy. One major postulated mechanism underlying therapeutic benefits of stem cell therapy involves stimulation of endogenous neurogenesis via transplantation of exogenous stem cells. To this end, transplantation has targeted neurogenic sites, such as the hippocampus, for brain protection and repair. The hippocampus has been shown to secrete growth factors, especially during the postnatal period, suggesting that this brain region presents as highly conducive microenvironment for cell survival. Based on its neurogenic and neurotrophic factor-secreting features, the hippocampus stands as an appealing target for stem cell therapy. Here, we investigated the efficacy of int...