Here, we have investigated the synergistic effect of quercetin administration and transplantation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (HUMSCs) following middle cerebral artery occlusion in rat. Combining quercetin treatment with delayed transplantation of HUMSCs after local cerebral ischemia significantly (i) improved neurological functional recovery; (ii) reduced proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin(IL)-1β and IL-6), increased anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-β1), and reduced ED-1 positive areas; (iii) inhibited cell apoptosis (caspase-3 expression); and (iv) improved the survival rate of HUMSCs in the injury site. Altogether, our results demonstrate that combined HUMSC transplantation and quercetin treatment is a potential strategy for reducing secondary damage and promoting functional recovery following cerebral ischemia.

Background: The expression profile and function of GMFB, which mainly expressed in the brain of vertebrates, is still unknown, especially under the condition of nerve injury. Methods and Results: In this study, Immunofluorescence, Western Blot, Immunohistochemistry Staining, TTC staining, Micro-PET and ELISA were applied to analyze the clinical diagnostic value of GMFB in cerebral infarction. The results of Immunofluorescence and Immunohistochemistry Staining showed that GMFB is mainly expressed in the nucleus of nerve cells, and it has the prerequisite for being a chemical marker. The death rate of astrocytes and the concentration of free GMFB protein in the medium increased gradually with the prolongation of hypoxia-ischemia treatment time. Moreover, the levels of GMFB in plasma increased in a rat model of cerebral infarction, which is positively correlated with the degree of infarction. Furthermore, the time dependent increase of GMFB in plasma was confirmed by using clinical samples. The increase of GMFB level appeared at early stage of cerebral infarction (within 24 hours), and sustained for more than one week. Conclusion: In summary, our results provide the evidence that GMFB can be served as a novel indicator for nerve hypoxic-ischemic injury in cell culture, animal model and clinical samples, which play an important role in diagnosis of cerebral infarction.