Bone marrow stromal cell transplantation as the treatment for glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

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To know if the transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells(BMSCs) could be beneficial for reconstructing or protecting glaucomatous eyes, we investigated if transplanted BMSCs in glaucoma model eye could survive, differentiate into retinal ganglion cells(RGCs), and also prevent the reduction of RGC in host glaucoma retina. Glaucoma was induced in the right eye of adult rat by ligating episcleral veins and the left eye was sham operated and used as a control. The GFP-expresssing BMSCs(GFP-BMSCs) or phosphate buffered saline(PBS) were injected into the vitreous body of both the control and the glaucoma eyes at various stages. One week after transplantation, GFP-BMSCs were mostly present along with inner limiting membrane(ILM) and a few cells were integrated into the ganglion cell layer(GCL). No cells were integrated into the optic disc. The transplanted cells expressed CD54, the marker of mesenchymal cells, however the expression of neuronal or glial markers were not observed. The analysis of RGC number by fluorogold retrogradely labeling at 4 weeks after injection revealed less reduction in the number of RGCs in BMSC injected glaucoma eyes compared with the PBS injected glaucoma eyes. At 2 or 4 weeks after transplantation, GFP-BMSCs were observed to express various trophic factors by immunohistochemistry. The quantative assessment by real-time PCR demonstrated that the expression of of bFGF and CNTF in BMSC transplanted glaucoma eyes is significantly increased compared with the PBS injected glaucoma eyes. In conclusion, BMSCs could survive and express trophic factors in glaucoma eyes and the decrease in the number of RGC was prevented in BMSCs transplanted glaucoma retina. BMSCs transplantation may be worthy as a neuroportective tool to treat glaucoma.