Combination of curcumin with adult neural stem/progenitor cells autologous transplantation refines more efficiently damaged cerebral tissue of rat.

NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? Neuroprotective agent, curcumin how can affect restorative action of neural stem/ progenitor cells on the injured rat brain? What is the main finding and its importance? We found that in the presence of curcumin, transplantation of NS/PCs in the context of PuraMatrix reduced the lesion size, reactive inflammatory responses, and boosted survival rate of grafted neurons as well. Besides these findings, transplantation of NS/PCs in the context of PM and Curcumin improved the neurologic status of injured animals. We hope these data could be beneficial in the designing new therapeutic approaches for brain injury based on this combination therapy. ABSTRACT Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a catastrophic neurological damage associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. To date, there is no definite treatment for restoring lost brain tissue. In the light of the complex pathology of brain injury, the present study evaluates the effects of combination therapy using autologous neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs), PuraMatrix (PM) and curcumin in an animal model of brain injury. After stereotactic biopsy of subventricular zone tissue and culture of NS/PCs, thirty six male Wistar rats (150-200 g) were randomly divided into six groups receiving Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO),  curcumin (100 mg kg-1 in DMSO), PM + curcumin (100 mg kg-1 in DMSO), NS/PCs + curcumin (100 mg kg-1 in DMSO), NS/PCs + PM +curcumin (100 mg kg-1 in DMSO) and NS/PCs + PM +curcumin (1 μM) following acute brain injury. The animals were evaluated in term of neurological status for 4 weeks then, decapitated. Nissl and TUNEL staining, as well as immunohistochemistry for BrdU, GFAP, Doublecortin, Map2, olig2, Iba1 and CD68, were performed. We found that combination therapy by NS/PCs + PM + Curcumin reduced the lesion size, astrogliosis, macrophage, and microglial reaction as well as the number of apoptotic cells. Moreover, the transplanted cells were capable to survive and differentiate after 4 weeks. Besides these findings, transplantation of NS/PCs in the context of PM and Curcumin improved the neurologic status of injured animals. In conclusion; our data suggest that this combination therapy can be beneficial for developing future therapeutic approaches for brain injury. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.