MSCs transplantation enhances synaptic plasticity in intracerebral hemorrhagic rats through the mTOR /P70S6K signaling pathway

To investigate whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation can regulate synaptic plasticity by activating mTOR/P70S6K signaling pathway in rats with intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). The ICH rat models were made by injecting collagenase I and heparin into the right caudate nucleus, then these models were divided into ICH model control (MC) group and MSCs transplantation (MSCs) group. Modified neurological severity scores (mNSS) was selected to estimate neurological dysfunction in the rats, and wet-dry method was used to detect the brain water content (BWC). The levels of mTOR/p-P70S6K/PSD95/SYP mRNAs and p-mTOR/p-P70S6K/PSD95/SYP proteins were observed by real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Compared with the MC group, mNSS score decreased obviously, but expression levels of mTOR/P70S6K/PSD95/SYP mRNAs and p-mTOR/p-P70S6K/PSD95/SYP proteins increased significantly in the MSCs group (P<0.05). The BWC of the MSCs group decreased when compared with that of the MC group, but there were no significant differences between the two groups. MSCs transplantation may promote the expression of synaptic related proteins and enhance plasticity of synapses via the mTOR/P70S6K pathway, thus contributing to the rehabilitation of hemorrhagic stroke.