Investigation into the use of Pulsed Focused Ultrasound as a Method of Facilitating Homing of Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells after Systemic Administration in Ischemic Stroke Rat Models

Abstract

Stroke is a leading cause of mortality with no current therapies for chronic stroke victims. Our work investigates how to help chronic stroke patients regain function lost due to their stroke. This was accomplished by exploring how the use umbilical cord blood stem cells (UCBSCs), used in conjunction with pulsed focused ultrasound (pFUS), could provide a safe, efficient, and relatively non­invasive method for providing neuroregenerative therapy. Using rat stroke models that have undergone unilateral MCA occlusion, we propose that tail vein injections of UCBSCs, followed immediately afterwards by pFUS targeted to regions of ischemic damage, will result in functional improvements due to engraftment and neural differentiation of the stem cells. Initial immunohistochemical analysis of control rat brain tissue investigated how the local neuro­environment may become therapeutically favorable after transcranial pFUS treatments. Results obtained so far are preliminary.