Nanotubes impregnated human olfactory bulb neural stem cells promote neuronal differentiation in trimethyltin-induced neurodegeneration rat model

Neural stem cells (NSCs) are multipotent self-renewing cells that could be used in cellular-basedtherapy for a wide variety of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's diseases (AD),Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS). Beingmultipotent in nature, they are practically capable of giving rise to major cell types of the nervoustissue including neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. This is in marked contrast to neuralprogenitor cells which are committed to a specific lineage fate. In previous studies, we havedemonstrated the ability of NSCs isolated from human olfactory bulb (OB) to survive,proliferate, differentiate, and restore cognitive and motor deficits associated with AD, and PDrat models, respectively. The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to enhance the survivability anddifferentiation potential of NSCs following their in vivo engraftment have been recentlysuggested. Here, in order to assess the ability of CNTs to enhance the therapeutic potential ofhuman OBNSCs for restoring cognitive deficits and neurodegenerative lesions, weco-engrafted CNTs and human OBNSCs in TMT-neurodegeneration rat model. The presentstudy revealed that engrafted human OBNSCS-CNTs restored cognitive deficits, andneurodegenerative changes associated with TMT-induced rat neurodegeneration model.Moreover, the CNTs seemed to provide a support for engrafted OBNSCs, with increasing theirtendency to differentiate into neurons rather than into glia cells. The present study indicate themarked ability of CNTs to enhance the therapeutic potential of human OBNSCs which qualifythis novel therapeutic paradigm as a promising candidate for cell-based therapy of differentneurodegenerative diseases.