Introduction. Ingestion of corrosive substances may lead to stricture formation in esophagus as a late complication. Full thickness\ninjury seems to exterminate tissue stem cells of esophagus. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into specific cell\nlineages and have the capacity of homing in sites of injury. Aim and Methods. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of MSC\ntransplantation, on prevention of esophageal damage and stricture formation after caustic esophagus injury in rats. 54 rats were\nallocated into four groups; 4 rats were sacrificed for MSC production. Group 1, untreated controls (????: 10). Group 2, membrane\nlabeled MSCs-treated rats (????: 20). Group 3, biodistribution of fluorodeoxyglucose labeledMSCs via positron emission tomography\n(PET) imaging (????: 10). Group 4, shamoperated (????: 10). Standard caustic esophageal burns were created and MSCs were transplanted\n24 hours after. All rats were sacrificed at the 21st days. Results. PET scan images revealed the homing behavior of MSCs to the injury\nsite.The histopathology damage score was not significantly different fromcontrols.However,we demonstrated Dil labeled epithelial\nand muscle cells which were originating from transplanted MSCs. Conclusion.MSC transplantation after caustic esophageal injury\nmay be a helpful treatment modality; however, probably repeated infusions are needed.
Loading....