New method for transplantation of neurosphere cells into injured spinal cord through cerebrospinal fluid in rat

Here we report a novel method of supplying cultured neurosphere cells to the injured spinal cord, by injection of cells into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through the fourth ventricle or cisterna magna. Hippocampus-derived neurosphere cells, isolated from a transgenic rat fetus expressing green fluorescent protein, were transplanted into the CSF of a rat with spinal cord injury. It was found that injected cells were extensively transported by CSF within the subarachnoidal space, and survived as clusters on the pial surface of the spinal cord. The most notable finding was that a large number of injected cells migrated into the lesion site and integrated into the injured spinal cord tissues.