Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Studies have confirmed that exogenous mesenchymal stem cells can migrate and establish in the nephridial tissue following ischemia/reperfusion injury, differentiate into renal tubular epithelial cells, and recover structure and function of the kidney. At present, it is controversial which is better, arterial injection or intravenous injection, for transplanting stem cells.
OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of different transplantation methods of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on dogs with acute tubular necrosis (ATN). 
METHODS: Healthy dog models of ATN were established and randomly divided into two groups. Human umbilical cord derived mesenchymal stem cells were labeled with DAPI. Then the cells were injected through peripheral veins and right femoral artery into model dogs’ body. 24 hours later, histological changes were observed by light microscope, and the survival of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells was evaluated by fluorescent microscope.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Under common optical microscope, pathological changes such as swelling, degeneration and necrosis appeared in renal tubular epithelial cells in both groups. The injected human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells could survive in the affected kidney. There was no significant difference on fluorescence intensity between two groups (P > 0.05). These indicated that transplanted human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells by two pathways can survive in the kidneys. The outcomes were similar in repairing the kidney. Compared with arterial injection, the transplantation of intravenous injection obtained little trauma.