1. Cortical Reshaping and Functional Recovery Induced by Silk Fibroin Hydrogels-Encapsulated Stem Cells Implanted in Stroke Animals.
- Author
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Fernández-García, Laura, Pérez-Rigueiro, José, Martinez-Murillo, Ricardo, Panetsos, Fivos, Ramos, Milagros, Guinea, Gustavo V., and González-Nieto, Daniel
- Subjects
SILK fibroin ,MESENCHYMAL stem cells ,STROKE ,POLYMERS ,BIOMATERIALS - Abstract
The restitution of damaged circuitry and functional remodeling of peri-injured areas constitute two main mechanisms for sustaining recovery of the brain after stroke. In this study, a silk fibroin-based biomaterial efficiently supports the survival of intracerebrally implanted mesenchymal stem cells (mSCs) and increases functional outcomes over time in a model of cortical stroke that affects the forepaw sensory and motor representations. We show that the functional mechanisms underlying recovery are related to a substantial preservation of cortical tissue in the first days after mSCs-polymer implantation, followed by delayed cortical plasticity that involved a progressive functional disconnection between the forepaw sensory (FLs
1 ) and caudal motor (cFLm1 ) representations and an emergent sensory activity in peri-lesional areas belonging to cFLm1 . Our results provide evidence that mSCs integrated into silk fibroin hydrogels attenuate the cerebral damage after brain infarction inducing a delayed cortical plasticity in the peri-lesional tissue, this later a functional change described during spontaneous or training rehabilitation-induced recovery. This study shows that brain remapping and sustained recovery were experimentally favored using a stem cell-biomaterial-based approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
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