Olfactory bulb-derived (central) ensheathing cell (OB OEC) transplants have shown significant promise in rat models of spinal cord injury, prompting the use of lamina propria-derived (peripheral) olfactory ensheathing cells (LP OECs) in both experimental and clinical trials. Although derived from a common embryonic precursor, both sources of OECs reside in different nervous system compartments ...

OBJECTIVE This study was to investigate the efficacy of olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). METHODS EAE models were established by guinea pig spinal cord homogenate (GPSCH) immunization in Lewis rats. OECs were purified and cultured from the olfactory nerve layer of SD rats, and then transplanted to the EAE models through the ve...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are a unique glial population found in both the peripheral and central nervous system: they ensheath bundles of unmyelinated olfactory axons from their peripheral origin in the olfactory epithelium to their central synaptic targets in the glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb. Like all other peripheral glia (Schwann cells, satellite glia, enteric glia), OECs ...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) are a promising graftable cell population for improving functional outcomes after experimental spinal cord injury. However only few studies have focused on experimental models with large cavitations, which require bridging substrates to transfer and maintain the donor cells within the lesion site. Here, a state-of-the-art collagen-based multi-channeled three di...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), a special population of glial cells, are able to synthesise several trophic factors exerting a neuroprotective action and promoting growth and functional recovery in both in vitro and in vivo models. In the present work, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of OEC-conditioned medium (OEC-CM) on two different human neuron-like cell lines, SH-SY5Y and SK...

The molecular mechanisms used by olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) to promote repair in the damaged adult mammalian CNS remain unknown. Thus, we used microarrays to analyze three OEC populations with different capacities to promote axonal regeneration in cultured rat retinal neurons. Gene expression in "long-term cultured OECs" that do not stimulate adult axonal outgrowth was compared with tha...

Contusive spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a complex lesion that includes cellular and axonal loss, microglia and macrophage activation, and demyelination. These changes result in permanent neurological deficits in people with SCI and in high financial costs to society. Unlike the peripheral nervous system (PNS), in which axonal regeneration can occur, axonal regeneration in the central nerv...

The olfactory ensheathing cell is a specialized glial cell that assists in growth of the axons of the olfactory sensory neurons as they are generated and regenerated throughout adult life. There is increasing evidence in animal models that transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cell promotes recovery after transplantation into the injured spinal cord. Olfactory ensheathing cell transplants ha...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) have been successfully used to stimulate the growth of injured fibers and to promote functional recovery within the injured adult CNS. These cells exhibit functional properties, which are known to be involved in axonal elongation. OEC express high level of growth factors including NGF, GDNF, BDNF and NT-3, which are known to play an important role in nerve rege...

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OEC) have been successfully used to stimulate the growth of injured fibers and to promote functional recovery within the injured adult CNS. These cells exhibit functional properties, which are known to be involved in axonal elongation. OEC express high level of growth factors including NGF, GDNF, BDNF and NT-3, which are known to play an important role in nerve rege...