The Effect of Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the Neurological Function and the Expression of Caspase-3 in Cerebral Ischemiareperfusion Rats

Cerebral infarction, a type of ischemic stroke disease, is a threat to human health. Thrombolytic therapy and brain protection methods have been used to treat cerebral infarction clinically. Recently, cell therapy has become a hotspot. This study aimed to explore the effect of Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells on the neurological function and the expression of caspase-3 in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats. Methods: The rat cerebral infarction models were established. The treatment group was injected into 2×106 Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells; Sham-operated group and the control were injected into the same amount of cell culture media. Evaluation of neurological function was performed and the mRNA and protein expression level of caspase-3 was detected using RT-PCR and immunohistochemical method, respectively. Apoptosis analysis was assessed using a TUNEL kit. Results: Labeled Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells survived well after being injected into rats, while the green fluorescence signal was not discovered in the control and sham-operated group; The neurological function of rats in the treatment group improved compared to the control (p 0.05). Immunohistochemistry results indicated that the number of caspase-3 positive cells decreased in the treatment group than the control (P 0.05). Apoptosis results showed that TUNEL-positive cells were significantly lower in the treatment group than the control group. This study indicated that Umbilical Cord Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells contribute to the recovery of neurological function of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion rats and the expression of caspase-3 decreased.