Therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on radiation-induced sciatic nerve injury

Background: radiation-induced peripheral neuropathy (ripn) is one of the severe adverse effects of radiation therapy that significantly reduces patient quality of life. bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmscs) exert beneficial effects on nerve regeneration following injury. we hypothesized that bmscs are a potential treatment option for ripn. this study aimed to evaluate the radioprotective effects of bmscs on ripn in a rat model. materials and methods: the right sciatic nerves of fifty-four male sprague-dawley rats were locally irradiated with a single dose of 30 gy x-rays. the rats were randomly divided into three groups (n = 18): radiation control (rc), radiation + bmscs (rb) and radiation + phosphate-buffered solution (rp). bmscs and phosphatebuffered solution were administered via gastrocnemius muscle injection 24 hours after radiation exposure. gait analysis, electrophysiological examinations and morphological examinations were performed subsequently. results: no significant differences were observed between the rc and rp groups. evaluation of the sciatic functional index demonstrated no statistical differences between the three groups after 4, 12 and 24 weeks. the rb group showed better improvement than either rc or rp group, as evidenced by increased motor nerve conductive velocity, expression level of s-100, mean diameter of the axon and thickness of the myelin sheath and decreased perineural scar tissue. conclusion: the present study indicated that bmscs can improve the electrophysiological and morphological features of radiation exposed sciatic nerves, and have therapeutic potential for ripn management.