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10.7.4.1 Stroke
Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and cell based therapy offers a new
avenue in its treatment and care [ 50 ]. The condition could be mimicked in vitro
using oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) model system. Borlongan et al. reported
that OGD -exposed primary rat neurons when co-cultured with menstrual blood-
derived stem cells or exposed to the conditioned media of menstrual blood EnSCs,
achieved significant protection against ischemic cell death. Elevated levels of cer-
tain trophic factors such as VEGF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and
neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) was also observed in the media of OGD-exposed menstrual
blood-derived EnSCs. Based on these findings, the authors conducted an in vivo
trial by transplanting EnSCs in a rat model of ischemic stroke. Intracerebral (IC)
and intravenous (IV) injections of EnSCs significantly reduced behavioural and his-
tological abnormalities of stroke. In vitro and in vivo assessments of the study
revealed the efficacy and safety of transplanting menstrual blood-derived stem cells
in stroke and probably their potential in treating other CNS disorders.
10.7.4.2 Multiple Sclerosis
The immunosuppressive property of EnSCs and their potential contribution in
reducing neuroinflammation has been demonstrated in a murine model of multiple
sclerosis (MS) [ 55 ], a neurodegenerative condition affecting the central nervous
system. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is the most commonly
used experimental model for studying MS. The disease involves interaction between
a variety of immunopathological and neuropathological mechanisms aiding to cer-
tain key pathological features of MS such as inflammation, demyelination, axonal
loss and gliosis [ 63 ]. Intraperitoneal delivery of EnSCs exerted a potential anti-
inflammatory effect in EAE models [ 55 ]. Lowered levels in number of infiltrating
mononuclear cells in the lesions resulted in a reduced EAE score along with upregu-
lated levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and IL-27 and expression
of IDO. Further, there was reduced recruitment of Th1 and Th17 cells in the central
nervous system following EnSC delivery. The results supported the promising idea
of using EnSCs as a potent immunomodulatory tool for the treatment of neurode-
generative diseases.
10.7.4.3 Parkinson’s Disease (PD)
PD is yet another important neurodegenerative concern, caused by the loss of dopa-
minergic neurons. EnSCs when transplanted into the striatum of a primate model of
PD, resulted in successful engraftment, development of neuron-like morphology,
expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and increased numbers of TH positive
cells on the transplanted sites. Also, there were notable concentrations of dopamine
metabolite in vivo [ 56 ].
K.G. Aghila Rani and T. Madan