• Changsheng Qu, Ye Xiong, Asim Mahmood, David L Kaplan, Anton Goussev, Ruizhuo Ning, and Michael Chopp.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan 48202, USA.
• J. Neurosurg. 2009 Oct 1; 111 (4): 658-65.

ObjectThis study was designed to investigate new ways of delivering human marrow stromal cells (hMSCs) to the injured brain by impregnating them into collagen scaffolds in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodsEight C57BL/6 J mice were injured with controlled cortical impact and received transplantation into the lesion cavity of 0.3 x 10(6) hMSCs impregnated into 3D porous collagen scaffolds. Additional experimental groups of 8 mice each received scaffolds implanted alone into the lesion cavity, hMSCs administered alone intracerebrally or intravenously, or saline injected into the lesion core. All treatments were performed 7 days after TBI. Spatial learning was measured using a modified Morris water maze test, and brain tissue samples were processed for histopathological analysis.ResultsThe results showed that hMSC-impregnated scaffolds were more effective than hMSCs administered alone (either intravenously or intracerebrally) in improving spatial learning, reducing lesion volume, and increasing vascular density after TBI.ConclusionsCollagen scaffolds populated with hMSCs may be a new way to reconstruct injured brain tissue and improve neurological function after TBI.

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