Effect of Application of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells After Subglottic Injury: Animal Study

Acquired laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is notorious for recurrence and the need for repeated procedures to achieve a satisfactory outcome. This limitation is, at least partly, due to the suboptimal healing process of the airway following trauma. Consequently, innovative interventions are required to improve wound healing, which would reflect on improving the outcome of the management of LTS. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the application of BM-MSCs in preventing subglottic acute stenosis following trauma.

Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three equal groups (n = 8): two intervention groups and one control group. Subglottic trauma was performed in the three groups. In the intervention groups, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) were applied either systemically (TS group) or via local injection (TL group). Subglottic specimens from the three groups were compared by histopathological appearance, lamina propria (LP) thickness, and luminal anteroposterior (AP) diameter.

An intense inflammatory reaction was observed in the control specimens, while a mild inflammatory reaction was detected in the two intervention groups. The LP thickness and the AP diameter were significantly different between the control group and the two intervention groups.

In the present animal model, stem cell application, either systemic or local application, can mitigate subglottic inflammation and stenosis after trauma.