Administration of NSCs improves functional recovery after MCAO
Functional analysis of ischemic rats was performed at different time points after intravenous NSCs transplantation. Neurological Severity Scores (NSS) were calculated based on a series of motor sensory, reflex, and balance tests. Treatment with intravenously injected C17.2 NSCs 24 hours after MCAO significantly improved functional recovery, as evidenced by improved NSS scores (Figure 1A). There were no significant differences among the groups in NSS scores before MCAO or 1, 3 and 7 days after MCAO. At 10, 14 and 21 days post-MCAO, rats in C17.2 NSCs-treated group showed greater sensorimotor deficit improvement as compared to PBS-treated control (P < 0.05). The greatest improvements were observed in C17.2 NSCs-treated rats at 28 days after MCAO (P < 0.01). These results demonstrated that functional deficits following ischemia produced by transient MCAO in rats were improved by intravenous transplantation of C17.2 NSCs.