Transplantation of human fetal striatum into a rodent model of Huntington's disease ameliorates locomotor deficits.

Previous studies have demonstrated that syngeneic transplants of striatal tissue can ameliorate locomotor deficits in rodent models of Huntington's disease (HD). In the present study, we have examined whether human to rat xenografts of fetal striatal tissue can exert a similar recovery of function. Rodents with unilateral striatal lesions were transplanted with human striatal cells from a donor 14 weeks post-conception, and subsequently displayed a progressive decrease in rotational asymmetry in comparison to sham (saline) transplanted animals. Histological analysis revealed acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive fibers and NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive neurons within transplanted tissue. These results suggest that human fetal striatum at a gestational age of 14 weeks may potentially be useful as a source of donor tissue for transplantation in the treatment of HD.