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Mouse fetal neural stem cell preparation and brain transplantation using alginate hydrogels

The promise of stem cell therapy to achieve tissue regeneration and replace the lost cells is in particular difficult to achieve in the brain. The three dimensional structure of the complicated network of neural cell, where new cells are rarely added in the mammalian brain after birth, represent a major challenge for the incorporation of the transplanted cells. To enhance the abilities of neural stem cells to be incorporated in the brain in particular, the neural stem cells were cultivated using alginate hydrogels. The cells were isolated from the brains of mouse fetuses 14 days old, and cultivated within the alginate beds of standardized 3 mm diameter. Their survival, differentiation and the behavior after the transplantation were followed in different alginate concentrations. The neural stem cells survived and differentiated within alginate beds. The neural markers were present after differentiation. In particular, the alginate concentration suitable for brain transplantation was investigated. The results showed that alginate hydrogels have potential to enhance the abilities of neural stem cells and to serve as a biomaterial supporting their transplantation to the brain.

neural stem cells; alginate hydrogel; transplantation; mouse

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