Neuroprotection by T-Lymphocytes and Stem Cells After Ischemic Stroke

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide and the third leading cause of adult disability in adults. Ischemic stroke triggers an inflammatory response in the brain that is cytotoxic. In response to ischemic stroke, T-cells from mobilize to the brain and modulate both cytotoxic and protective inflammation. Regulatory T (Treg)-cells exert a neuroprotective effect after ischemic stroke by inhibiting both inflammation and cytotoxic T-cell activation. Transplantation of bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) after ischemic stroke has a neuroprotective effect. One way that BMSCs protect neurons from apoptosis is by attenuating innate inflammation, but response of the adaptive immune system has not been well-studied. Our lab has found that implanted stem cells accumulate in locations with known importance to the adaptive immune system like the spleen. In this study, regulatory T-cells and BMSCs were shown to be neuroprotective following ischemic treatment of primary rat neurons.