Comparison of P19-derived neuroprogenitor and naive cell survival after intracerebellar application into B6CBA mice

Mouse embryonic carcinoma cells (P19 line) were studied for both their survival and developmental potential in the intact cerebellum of B6CBA mice. The P19 cells were cultured and labelled with green fluorescent protein using transfection. Cells were used for transplantation either in the undifferentiated stage or after 3 days of neurodifferentiation induced by retinoic acid. The intracerebellar application was performed in 43 mice: group A (N = 21) received neuroprogenitors and group B (N = 22) received undifferentiated cells. The morphology of transplanted cells within the context of the surrounding cerebellar tissue was evaluated after 3 weeks. Naive P19 cells engrafted and survived in the cerebellum of 7 of the 22 adult mice (survival rate 31.8 %). Neuroprogenitors survived in 13 of the 21 mice (survival rate was 61.9 %). Since the cut-off is P < 0.05, the difference is not statistically significant (P = 0.069). An expansive appearance of the graft was significantly more frequent (P = 0.0047) in naive P19 cells than in neuroprogenitors. In mice in which the grafts did not survive, no marks of grafted cells or only fluorescing detritus were found. In conclusion, this is the first study to track the fate and morphology of embryonic carcinoma cells transplanted into the cerebellum, confirming that neuroprogenitors derived from embryonic carcinoma cells can settle in the host tissue and differentiate according to the surrounding conditions. With further validation, the embryonic carcinoma cells could become a valuable model with which to study the impact of cell therapy on neurodegenerative diseases.