Long-Term Viability of Isolated Bovine Adrenal Medullary Chromaffin Cells following Intrastriatal Transplantation

Abstract

Adrenal medullary grafts generally exhibit poor viability when grafted into the striatum. Previous work in our laboratory demonstrated that chromaffin cells can survive well for up to 2 mo following grafting into the intact rat striatum after cells are isolated from the nonchromaffin supporting cells (fibroblasts and endothelial cells) of the adrenal medulla. The aim of the present study was to assess the long-term viability of isolated bovine chromaffin cells following grafting into the intact rat striatum. The viability of grafted bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin cells was compared in rats receiving either (a) perfused adrenal medulla; (b) isolated chromaffin cells; or (c) isolated chromaffin cells that were subsequently recombined with their nonchromaffin supporting cells. One year postimplantation, all graft types which included fibroblasts and endothelial cells were infiltrated with macrophages and demonstrated an abundance of cellular debris. No viable chromaffin cells were observed. In contrast, healthy tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine beta hydroxylase (D beta H) immunoreactive chromaffin cells survived for 1 yr posttransplantation when grafted in isolation from the nonchromaffin constituents of the adrenal medulla. Good xenograft survival was achieved in this group despite the fact that these rats were only immunosuppressed for 1 mo postimplantation. Grafted cells demonstrated morphological characteristics of chromaffin cells in situ and these implants were not accompanied by macrophage infiltration. These data demonstrate that long-term survival of chromaffin cells can be achieved following intrastriatal implantation and the viability of grafted chromaffin cells is dependent upon the removal of the nonchromaffin supporting cells.

Intrastriatal Ventral Mesencephalic Xenografts of Porcine Tissue in Rats: Immune Responses and Functional Effects

“…However, the transplant was subjected to an intense inflammatory reaction at the time of perfusion, and we assume that this graft eventu ally would have succumbed to rejection if the study had not been terminated. Long-term survival of discordantxenogeneic grafts without immunosuppression has been observed before(5,17,46) and stresses the unique immu-nological properties of the brain, rendering it a specifi cally suitable site for xenogeneic cell transplantation.Immune Response to the Porcine GraftsTheimmunosuppressive treatment used in this study was not sufficient to enable stable graft survival and per sistent functional effects in all recipients. In four immu nosuppressed animals, a strong immunological rejection was ongoing at the time of perfusion.…”

Microencapsulated Bovine Chromaffin Cell Xenografts into Hemiparkinsonian Rats: A Drug‐Induced Rotational Behavior and Histological Changes Analysis

“…This may have been due to the high degree of viability and purity of the BCCs used in the study. Czech et al (26) and Schueler et al (27) found that the nonchromaffin supporting cells (fibroblasts and endothelial cells) of the adrenal medulla can induce strong immune responses.…”

In Vivo Biocompatibility of Alginate-PLL Microcapsules with Chromaffin Cells for the Alleviation of Chronic Pain

“…Cell isolation and encapsulation procedure. Chromaffin cells were isolated from bovine adrenal medullary tissue by conventional methods [11] and purified using the differential plating method [12]. The purified chromaffin cells, with 1.4% alginate (Sigma, USA), were dropped into a calcium chloride bath and coated with 0.05% poly-L-Lysine and 0.2% alginate in turn.…”