Synergistic effects of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells and selenium nanoparticles on streptozotocin-induced memory impairment in the rat.

AimsMemory impairment is determined to be the most well-known symptom of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although cell therapy seems is an efficient therapeutic strategy to attenuate the AD-related memory impairment, transplanted cells have a short lifespan and do not survive long term in the recipient animals. Herein, we investigated whether the combination therapy of Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and stem cells attenuates the neurotoxicity in an AD animal model.Material and methodsThe adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) were transplanted in the AD model. In addition to cell injections, the animals also received oral administration of SeNPs (0.4 mg/kg) for one month. Recognition memory, cell survival, and BDNF concentration were assessed using the novel object recognition task, immunofluorescence, and ELISA methods.Key findingsOur results showed that the combined therapy was more effective in increasing the discrimination index than the administering SeNPs or AMSCs alone. Moreover, SeNPs and stem cells together had the greatest effects in reducing the deposition of Aβ and increasing the concentration of BDNF. Ultimately, the survival and proliferation of transplanted cells were more in the group that received stem cells besides SeNPs.SignificanceTaken together, it seems that the transplantation of MSCs combined with SeNPs could achieve better results in the neuroprotection in the AD model than a conventional treatment of SeNPs or stem cells alone.