1377 Stem Cell Exosomes: A Novel Intravenous Therapy for Enhancing Neurological Recovery in Ischemic Stroke Rodents

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with limited treatment options focused on a short time window after diagnosis for tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) administration, and the rest on symptomatic management. Here, we investigated the potential use of stem cell-derived exosomes as a novel therapeutic approach. METHODS: 24 Male Wistar rats underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) surgery. Forty-eight hours post-surgery, the animals were treated with PureStem-exosomes (EV30_MV2-14, PureStem1-Exo) at a titer of 3x10 10 particles via tail vein injection. Therapeutic efficacy was assessed using TTC staining, infarct volume, modified neurological severity score (mNSS), and the vertical pole test. IHC was performed to detect GFAP, Iba1, Neun, Dapi. RESULTS: PureStem-exosomes improved neurological function recovery. Sensorimotor function in ischemic MCAO rats was significantly increased by intravenous administration of PureStem-exosomes at 3×10^10 particles, as shown by the mNSS and vertical pole test. Enhancesd Survival of Cells in the Penumbra Region of the Ischemic Brain and helped reduce Infarct Volume 1 week post ischemia. The p-values were 0.0023 at 7 days post-surgery, 0.0003 at 14 days, 0.0038 at 21 days, and 0.995 at 28 days. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. CONCLUSIONS: Stem cell-derived exosomes show promise as a novel treatment for stroke by improving neurological function in a rat MCAO model. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms for potential clinical translation.