title: Immunomodulation by transplanted human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendroglial progenitors in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
abstract: Transplantation of embryonic stem cells and their neural derivatives can lead to amelioration of the disease symptoms of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model for multiple sclerosis (MS). Oligodendroglial progenitors (OPs), derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESC, HES-1), were labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide and transduced with luciferase. At 7 days following induction of EAE in C57/BL6 mice, 1 × 10(6) cells were transplanted in the ventricles of C57/BL6 mice and noninvasively monitored by magnetic resonance and bioluminescence imaging. Cells were found to remain within the cerebroventricular system and did not survive for more than 10 days. However, EAE mice that received hESC-OPs showed a significant improvement in neurological disability scores (0.9 ± 0.2; n = 12) compared to that of control animals (3.3 ± 0.4; n = 12) at day 15 post-transplantation. Histopathologically, transplanted hESC-OPs generated TREM2-positive CD45 cells, increased TIMP-1 expression, confined inflammatory cells within the subarachnoid space, and gave rise to higher numbers of Foxp3-positive regulatory T cells in the spinal cord and spleen. Our results suggest that transplantation of hESC-OPs can alter the pathogenesis of EAE through immunomodulation, potentially providing new avenues for stem cell-based treatment of MS.
authors.affiliation: Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Division of MR Research, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2195, USA.
authors.forename: Heechul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Walczak
authors.forename: Candace
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Chulani
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galpoththawela
authors.forename: Assaf A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gilad
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Muja
authors.forename: Jeff W M
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Bulte
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D056747:Immunomodulation; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*