Shijun Peng, Lepeng Wang, Jia Ouyang, Ruen Liu

Department of Neurosurgery, Peking University People’s Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Ruen Liu, Email liuruen@pku.edu.cn Jia Ouyang, Email ouyangjiashen@126.com

Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder lacking therapies to replace lost dopaminergic neurons. Neural stem cell (NSC) transplantation faces survival and differentiation challenges. This study investigated feasibility and efficacy of paeoniflorin (PF) combined with NSC transplantation for PD treatment.
Methods: NSCs were isolated from E14 SD rat embryos. Differentiation medium induced dopaminergic progenitors and mature midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons. Immunofluorescence identified NSCs and mDA neurons. CCK-8 and Calcein-AM/PI staining evaluated PF’s effect on cell viability. Primary microglia were co-cultured with mDA neurons under PF treatment, with LPS-induced inflammation modeling. ELISA measured inflammatory cytokines, and Western blot analyzed TLR4 pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome proteins. In vivo, a PD rat model was established by injecting 6-hydroxydopamine into the substantia nigra, and apomorphine-induced rotational behavior validated the model. mDA cells, alone or with PF, were transplanted into the striatum. Tyrosine hydroxylase staining evaluated mDA differentiation and survival, and immunohistochemistry and Western blot verified inflammatory protein changes.
Results: NSCs formed neurospheres with high Nestin+ purity. Successful differentiation into dopaminergic lineages observed. PF had no significant cytotoxicity to NSCs or microglia, reduced inflammatory damage to mDA neurons, and enhanced maturation when microglia were pre-treated. In PD rats, apomorphine induced > 7 rotations per minute, and TH staining confirmed dopaminergic neuron loss, validating the model. PF combined with mDA transplantation improved dopaminergic neuron differentiation and survival in the striatum. Mechanistically, PF suppressed the TLR4/MYD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome, reducing inflammation, and stabilizing the neural microenvironment.
Conclusion: Paeoniflorin lessens inflammatory damage to transplanted cells, promotes survival and differentiation, and outperforms mDA-only transplantation for neuronal survival and functional recovery. By regulating inflammation, PF optimizes the neural microenvironment, offering new perspectives for combined cell transplantation therapy in PD.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease, paeoniflorin, neural stem cells, cell transplantation, inflammatory response