BoneKEy Reports | BoneKEy Watch
Transfusing mesenchymal stromal cells aids rehabilitation of polytrauma
DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2013.91
A rat model of polytrauma was used to investigate how transplantation of mesenchymal stromal cells from the bone marrow (BMMMSCs) impacted on the repair of experimentally induced bone fractures. Male rats received multiple fractures, which resulted in hemorrhagic shock to simulate complex injuries.
This was a small study with just nine rats per group: controls, polytrauma only and polytrauma treated with allogeneic BMMMSCs (1 million cells per kg body weight) 36 h after surgery to induce the fractures. Treated animals fared better than untreated ones. Their physical activity improved more quickly and they had gained more weight by day 30. They also showed a lower degree of muscle wasting and larger and more mature bone trabeculae, enhanced callus formation and greater consolidation at the healing edge of the bone. Finally, rats treated with BMMMSCs regained normal hematocrit and hemaglobin levels and red blood cell counts faster than the untreated animals.
Editor’s comment: Replication of this experiment and large animal studies will be important, but benefits in recovery after polytrauma were identified by allogeneic MSC transfusion in this model. If translatable, this strategy could be extremely valuable as it produces multiple benefits rather than focusing on treating and improving only one consequence of trauma.
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