The Effects of Schwann and Bone Marrow Stromal Stem Cells on Sciatic Nerve Injury in Rat: A Comparison of Functional Recovery

OBJECTIVE: Transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) or Schwann cells (SCs) can facilitate axonal regeneration in peripheral nerve injuries. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of transplantation of BMSCs and SCs on functional recovery after injury to the sciatic nerve in the rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this experimental research, adult male Wistar rats (n=24, 250-300 g) were used, BMSCs and SCs were cultured, and SCs were confirmed with anti S100 antibody. Rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=8 in each group): 1; control group: silicon tube filled with fibrin gel without the cells, 2; BMSCs group: silicon tube filled with fibrin gel seeded with BMSCs and 3; SCs group: silicon tube filled with fibrin gel seeded with SCs. The left sciatic nerve was exposed, a 10 mm segment removed, and a silicone tube interposed into this nerve gap. BMSCs and SCs were separately transplanted into the gap in the two experimental groups and were labeled with anti BrdU and DiI respectively. After 12 weeks electrophysiological and functional assessments were performed and analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: Electrophysiological and functional assessments showed a significant difference between the experimental groups compared with the control group. Electrophysiological measures were significantly better in the SCs transplantation group compared with the BMSCs treatment group (p <0.05). Functional assessments showed no statistically significant difference between the BMSCs and SCs groups (p <0.05). CONCLUSION: Although both BMSCs and SCs have the potential to produce functional recovery after injury to the sciatic nerve in rats, electrophysiological evaluation confirms that the improvement after SCs transplantation is greater than that after BMSCs transplantation.