EN
The aim of the study was to compare therapeutic effectiveness of intra-arterial infusion of human umbilical cord-blood derived mononuclear (HUCB-MNs) cells at different stages of their neural conversion in vitro. Freshly isolated HUCB-MNs (D-0) neuraly directed progenitors (D-3) obtained during 3 days culture of HUCB-MNs and neural stem cells (NSC) line derived from HUCB-MNs were assessed. Focal brain damage of dorsolateral striatum was induced in Wistar rats by stereotactic injection of previously established low dose of ouabain (1 μl or 1,5 μl 5 mmol). Three days later 107 HUCB cells were infused into carotid artery. Following surgery rats were housed in large enriched environment cages, in groups of 7–8 animals per cage, for 30 days. Behavioral assessing consisted of: tests for sensorimotor defi cits (walking beam task, rotarod), habit learning task, exploratory behavior (open fi eld test) and apomorphine induced rotations. Functional effects of different subsets of HUCB cells were diverse in various behavioral tests and hard to conclude which stage of neural conversion of cord blood cells is the most effective in functional recovery. Additional analysis was applied: scores concerning positive effects of cells treatment visible in all parameters were calculated. The sum of scores revealed that the most effective in functional restoration and reduction of lesion volume were freshly isolated D-0 HUCB cells. Supported by Medical Research Centre statutory fund.