Brain ischemia is one of the most common causes of death and disability worldwide, which usually happens through diminished blood supply to the tissue.
Cell therapy and treatments using trophic factors are some of the new methods to protect brain cells against damage. Specific properties of Sertoli cells (SCs) make them suitable for improving
neurological disorders. This study is to evaluate possible
neuroprotective effects of SCs
transplantation on ischemic damage. Rats were divided into three experimental groups including
sham, control, and SCs-treated group. In this study, SCs were isolated from testis of rats and were transplanted into the right striatum by using stereotaxic surgery. After a week, ischemic surgery was performed. Twenty-four hours later, rats were scarified and different regions of the brain including the cortex, the piriform cortex-amygdala (Pir-Amy), and the striatum were collected and preserved in - 80 °C for further investigations. This study demonstrates that SCs
transplantation can reduce
brain ischemia deficits and increase
superoxide dismutase (SOD) and
catalase (CAT) activities. It also decreases
malondialdehyde production, which is the main product of lipid peroxidation. SCs improve ischemic behavioral disorder and reduce
brain edema, blood-brain barrier permeability, and
infarct volume. It seems that
transplantation of SCs can protect neural cells against
ischemia by decreasing oxidative stress.