Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (Ascs) transplantation restored olfactory function in anosmic rats

Abstract

Olfactory dysfunction is a major challenge in medicine and there is no absolute treatment for anosmic patients. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) are multipotent cells capable of differentiating into several cell lineages. The aim of present study was to assess effects of ASCs upon restoration of the olfactory function in anosmic rats. Materials and methods ASCs were isolated from the periuterine fat tissue of rats using collagenase type I. Anosmia was induced by intraperitoneal injection of 3-methylindole. Further on, 5×105 ASCs were transnasally transferred into the case group one day after the induction of anosmia. The control group included anosmic rats that were injected with culture media without ASCs. The olfactory function was evaluated weekly by a food-finding test. Olfactory neuroepithelium and bulb were harvested for histopathologic study at 4 and 8 weeks. Results Injection of ASCs caused about seven-and six-fold statistically significant reduction in the food-finding time in the case group of rats when compared to the control group tested, respectively, 4 and 8 weeks after injection of ASCs (P-value= 0.00 and =0.035, respectively). Histopathological findings showed reconstruction of olfac tory neuroepithelium in 93% of the cases while it was detected in 50% of control rats. The olfactory bulb was detectable in 60% of the case group rats, compared with 20% of the control rats. Conclusion Our present results show that regeneration of olfactory epithelium may be accelerated using local ASCs treatment. These data suggest that ASCs might be a promising source for the treatment of olfactory dysfunction in the future.