Neuroprotective effects of adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction stem cells on acute traumatic spine cord injuries in rats

• Serratrice N
• Brezun M
• Marqueste T
• Vogtensperger M
• Magalon J
• Giraudo L
• Belluco Sara
• Magalon G
• Marchal Thierry
• Fuentes S
• Sabatier F
• Decherchi P

• Spinal Cord
• Injury

Spinal cord injuries remain a real public health issue. However, despite more than half a century of intensive research and numerous clinical trials, the different strategies for repairing the spinal cord remain still inconclusive, even if the diagnosis and the patient care have improved considerably. When Japan and China are embarking on cell therapy trials for chronic lesions, there is currently no treatment that would allow spinal cord injured people to preserve damaged tissue avoiding the secondary expansion of the lesion and recovering of their sensorimotor functions. We thought the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) from fat could be neuroprotective in the acute phase of spinal cord injuries. SVF is extractable in just 2 h and contains mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cells known for their regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties. Our strategy based on an autologous injection of the SVF within 4 hours after spinal cord injuries. To check our hypothesis, we conducted a preclinical study in adult male rats. Contusions performed at thoracic level using an impactor. From a fat sample of 11.7 +/- 3.5 cc it is possible to extract 8.9 +/- 2.1 million cells of the SVF with 92.2 +/- 1.6% of viability and 77.7 +/- 0.04% of yield. A million cells then injected around injuries. The following 3 months devoted to kinematic analyses of movement, evaluation of sensorimotor recoveries using different behavioral tests (BBB test, Ladder rung walking test, CatWalk…), electrophysiology (evoked potentials, sensorimotor reflexes…), biochemistry (Elisa…), immunohistology (neurofilament labeling…). We present for the first time the results.