| abstract |
Compositions and methods for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI) are presented. Novel dendriplexes are formed from poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers complexed with shRNA encoding DNA plasmids encapsulating shRNA encoding chemokine ligand 20 (CCL20) gene, chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) gene, or a combination thereof. The dendriplexes are dually administered, both intranasally and intravenously, prior to administration of stem cells, such as human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) for the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Administration of the dendriplexes prior to stem cell administration resulted in a decrease in neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, microgliosis and astrogliosis. In addition, a synergistic increase in brain derived trophic factor (BDNF) was shown by administration of the combination of dendriplex and stem cell administration. |