The therapeutic role of SSEA3(+) human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells in ischemic stroke model

• Published in: Neuroscience research 2024-06, Vol.203, p.42-50
• Main Authors: Xiao, Dongjie, Li, Fang, Zhang, Kun, Liu, Guojun, Wang, Yunshan, Liu, Hua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Ischemic stroke; Stage-specific embryonic antigen 3; Tumor necrosis factor α; Umbilical cord blood
• ISSN: 0168-0102; 1872-8111
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2023.12.006

Numerous evidences showed that human umbilical cord blood (UCB) mononuclear cells were a promising approach for the therapy of ischemic stroke(IS). The effect of stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA3）positive subpopulation in UCB was not investigated in IS. In this study, we isolated SSEA3 positive cells from healthy UCB mononuclear cells, which comprised about 7.01% of the total UCB-mononuclear cells. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that SSEA3(+)UCB cells were almost positive for CD44 and CD45, and negative for CD73, CD90 and CD105. The expression of Oct3/4 in SSEA3(+)UCB cells were higher than that in UCB. SSEA3(+)UCB cells sorted by magnetic cell sorting were intravenously injected into the middle cerebral arterial occlusion(MCAO) rat model. Neurological score showed that SSEA3(+)UCB transplantation group exhibited significant improvements in the functional outcome of MCAO rats than UCB transplantation group. Nissl staining and microtubule association protein-2(MAP2) immunofluorescence staining showed that the SSEA3(+)UCB transplantation group decreased neuronal loss. SSEA3(+)UCB transplantation group reduced neuronal apoptosis, inhibited caspase3 expression, and decreased tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α). These results indicate that SSEA3 positive cells are a novel subpopulation of UCB cells, which exhibit great potential for the treatment of ischemic stroke. •SSEA3 positive subpopulation in umbilical cord blood were positive for CD44 and CD45.•SSEA3 + UCB alleviated cerebral infarction after ischemic stroke.•SSEA3 + UCB treatment decreased cell apoptosis in brain infarction.