Effects of the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system on rat neural stem/progenitor cells behavior

The injury of central nervous system (CNS) usually causes the cavity formation. Although transplantation of neural stem/precursor cells (NSPCs) into the lesioned area of CNS has been shown to be implicated in the functional restoration, the therapeutic result is limited by the poor survival of NSPCs as well as their insufficient proliferation and differentiation abilities. Type-1 collagen is considered as a candidate scaffold or drug delivery system to overcome the aforementioned obstacle. This study observed the effects of the CNTF (ciliary neurotrophic factor)-collagen gel-controlled delivery system and daily addition of soluble-form CNTF on the NSPC survival, migration, proliferation and differentiation. The results showed that, within 12 h of the initial co-culture, CNTF was released in a burst pattern, then the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system stably released CNTF for up to 12 d. The cell viability test, together with immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR and Western blotting, showed that the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system supported the NSPCs seeded on the surface of collagen gel survival and facilitated their migration and proliferation. The daily addition of soluble-form CNTF to the medium had similar effects to the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system, but large quantities of soluble-form CNTF were consumed during the entire process. Taken together, the CNTF-collagen gel-controlled delivery system not only provides a physical scaffold for the transplanted NSPCs to adhere and migrate, but also facilitates the NSPC survival, growth and proliferation, simultaneously reducing the consumption of the expensive growth factors. This system may be used to enhance the microenvironment in the lesioned area of CNS.