Transplantation of Enteric Cells into the Rodent Stomach with Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor

Abstract

Enteric cells, isolated from intestinal smooth muscle strips, were transplanted into the syngeneic rodent stomach in collagen gel with and without basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). While growth factor delivery did not affect cell viability after transplantation, bFGF promoted the formation of numerous ganglion-like structures at the injection site and adjacent muscularis. Immunohistochemistry staining revealed the presence of peripherin, S100, and synaptophysin in these ganglion-like structures. A small percentage of transplanted enteric cells expressed peripherin in the injection site after transplantation. Enteric cells transplanted with collagen and bFGF may hold potential as a cellular therapeutic for various motility disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Stemcell Transplantation- Types, Risks and Benefits

“…Stem cell transplantation is a medical procedure in the fields of hematology and oncology, most often performed for people with diseases of the blood, bone marrow, or certain cancer [31]. With the availability of the stem cell growth factors GM-CSF and G-CSF [32,33], most hematopoietic stem cell transplantation procedures are performed using stem cells collected from the peripheral blood [34] such as cord blood or placenta derived stem cells, rather than from the bone marrow. Collecting peripheral blood stem cells [35] provides a bigger graft, [36] does not require that the donor be subjected to general anesthesia to collect the graft which results in a shorter time to engraftment, and may provide for a lower long-term relapse rate [37,38].…”