Transplantation of Placenta-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the EAE Mouse Model of MS

Stem cell-based regenerative medicine raises great hope for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are being tested in clinical trials. Bone marrow is the traditional source of human MSCs, but human term placenta appears to be an excellent alternative because of its availability, without ethical issues. In this study, the therapeutic effect of human placental MSCs (PL-MSCs) was evaluated in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the mice model of MS. EAE mice were transplanted intra-cerebrally with PL-MSCs or with the vehicle saline 5 or 10 days after first MOG injection. The mice were monitored for a month after therapy. A daily EAE score revealed a decrease in disease severity in the transplanted animals when compared to saline. Survival was significantly higher in the transplanted animals. In vitro experiments demonstrated that conditioned media from LPS-activated astrocytes stimulated PL-MSCs to express the gene TNF-alpha-stimulated gene/protein 6 (TSG-6). The same mRNA expression was obtained when PL-MSCs were exposed to TNF-alpha or IL1-beta. These results demonstrate that PL-MSCs have a therapeutic effect in the EAE mice model. We assume that this effect is caused by reduction of the anti-inflammatory protein, TSG-6, of the inflammatory damage.