The study indicates that in animals treated with PLX cells, there were differences to the control groups in the following parameters: improvement in sensory and motor deficits, reduction in the development of the stroke lesion and increase in the production of glial nerve tissue.
The company said that these effects occurred even though the PLX cells were administered eight and 24 hours after the inducement of the stroke. It suggests that the use of PLX cells in ischemic stroke may allow patients a longer window of time for successful treatment after the onset of the insult. Optimal current therapy dictates that patients must be treated within four and a half hours after the onset of ischemic stroke. PLX cells may increase this window from four and a half hours up to eight hours.
The authors of the study hypothesised that systematically transplanted PLX cells migrated toward the ischemic part of the brain and secreted soluble factors with considerable effects on cell death processes (apoptosis), neuron growth (neurogenesis), blood vessel growth (angiogenesis), and neuronal remodeling.
The study results will be published in the journal, Brain Research (Brain Research, Feb. 22, Vol 1315), under the title ‘Transplantation of placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal cells upon experimental stroke in rats.’
Johannes Boltze, senior author of the publication, said: “The study’s positive results suggest that PLX cells may increase the time interval for successful treatment in humans suffering from ischemic stroke, but our knowledge concerning modes of action and optimal treatment paradigms must be enlarged in further experiments before considering clinical application.”
Zami Aberman, chairman and CEO of Pluristem, said: “This study is further evidence that PLX cells may be effective in treating various diseases including ischemic stroke.”