title: Recent advances in regenerative medicine to treat enteric neuropathies: use of human cells.
abstract: As current options for treating most enteric neuropathies are either non-effective or associated with significant ongoing problems, cell therapy is a potential attractive possibility to treat congenital and acquired neuropathies. Studies using animal models have shown that following transplantation of enteric neural progenitors into the bowel of recipients, the transplanted cells migrate, proliferate, and generate neurons that are electrically active and receive synaptic inputs. Recent studies have transplanted human enteric neural progenitors into the mouse colon and shown engraftment. In this article, we summarize the significance of these recent advances and discuss priorities for future research that might lead to the use of regenerative medicine to treat enteric neuropathies in the clinic.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: L A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8925-7894
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Stamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D006627:Hirschsprung Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007418:Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation*; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Hirschsprung disease; cell therapy; cell transplantation; neural crest