Therapeutic Effect of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Laser-Induced Retinal Injury in Mice

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Yuanfeng Jiang²  Yan Zhang²  Lingjun Zhang²  Meiyan Wang¹  Xiaomin Zhang² 

[1] Department of Ophthalmology, Haibin People’s Hospital of Tianjin, No. 400, Chuangye Road, Binhai New District, Tianjin 300280, China; E-Mail:;Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital and Eye Institute, No. 251, Fukang Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300384, China; E-Mails:

关键词: mesenchymal stem cells;    retina;    apoptosis;    glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP);    matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2);   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms15069372

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Stem cell therapy has shown encouraging results for neurodegenerative diseases. The retina provides a convenient locus to investigate stem cell functions and distribution in the nervous system. In the current study, we investigated the therapeutic potential of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) by systemic transplantation in a laser-induced retinal injury model. MSCs from C57BL/6 mice labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) were injected via the tail vein into mice after laser photocoagulation. We found that the average diameters of laser spots and retinal cell apoptosis were decreased in the MSC-treated group. Interestingly, GFP-MSCs did not migrate to the injured retina. Further examination revealed that the mRNA expression levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein and matrix metalloproteinase-2 were lower in the injured eyes after MSC transplantation. Our results suggest that intravenously injected MSCs have the ability to inhibit retinal cell apoptosis, reduce the inflammatory response and limit the spreading of damage in the laser-injured retina of mice. Systemic MSC therapy might play a role in neuroprotection, mainly by regulation of the intraocular microenvironment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.