Functional recovery of stroke rats induced by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-stimulated stem cells.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide; however, no effective treatment currently exists. Rats receiving subcutaneous granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) showed less cerebral infarction, as evaluated by MRI, and improved motor performance after right middle cerebral artery ligation than vehicle-treated control rats. Subcutaneous administration of G-CSF enhanced the availability of circulating hematopoietic stem cells to the brain and their capacity for neurogenesis and angiogenesis in rats with cerebral ischemia. G-CSF induced increases in bone marrow cell mobilization and targeting to the brain, reducing the volume of cerebral infarction and improving neural plasticity and vascularization.