Transplanted oligodendrocytes and motoneuron progenitors generated from human embryonic stem cells promote locomotor recovery after spinal cord transection.
Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) hold great promise for the treatment of patients with many neurodegenerative diseases particularly those arising from cell loss or neural dysfunction including spinal cord injury. This study evaluates the therapeutic effects of transplanted hESC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitors (OPC) and/or motoneuron progenitors (MP) on axonal remyelination and functional recovery of adult rats after complete spinal cord transection. OPC and/or MP were grafted into the site of injury in the acute phase. Based on Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan scores recovery of locomotor function was significantly enhanced in rats treated with OPC and/or MP when compared with control animals. When transplanted into the spinal cord immediately after complete transection, OPC and MP survived, migrated, and differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes and neurons showing in vivo electrophysiological activity. Taken together, these results indicate that OPC and MP derived from hESC could be a useful therapeutic strategy to repair injured spinal cord.
Erceg
Slaven
S
Cellular Reprogramming Laboratory, Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe (CIPF), Valencia, Spain. slaven.erceg@cabimer.es
Ronaghi
Mohammad
M
Oria
Marc
M
Roselló
Mireia García
MG
Aragó
Maria Amparo Pérez
MA
Lopez
Maria Gomez
MG
Radojevic
Ivana
I
Moreno-Manzano
Victoria
V
Rodríguez-Jiménez
Francisco-Javier
FJ
Bhattacharya
Shom Shanker
SS
Cordoba
Juan
J
Stojkovic
Miodrag
M
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation*; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000235:genetics; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000637:transplantation*; D051381:Rats; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D014162:Transfection
D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins