Astrocytes from human stem cells treat spinal cord injury In a breakthrough finding, researchers found transplanting specific types of astrocytes – cells derived from human stem cells – repaired spinal cord damage and restored movement in rats. The researchers say the results represent a critical step for treating spinal cord injuries and possibly other central nervous system disorders in humans. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, used a specific type of human astrocyte cell in rats to successfully restore movement from spinal cord injury.
Chris Proschel, Ph.D., lead study author and assistant professor of Genetics at the University of Rochester Medical Center says, “We’ve shown in previous research that the right types of rat astrocytes are beneficial, but this study brings it up to the human level, which is a huge step. What’s really striking is the robustness of the effect. Scientists have claimed repair of spinal cord injuries in rats before, but the benefits have been variable and rarely as strong as what we’ve seen with our transplants.”
The study is unique, says Stephen Davies, Ph.D., first author and associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, because it showed that astrocytes derived from the same human cell precursors have entirely different functions and produced different results for repairing injured spinal cords. The researchers say transplanting stem cells directly into the spinal cord and hoping they will be useful may not be the best approach – something they found when they tried it on the rats. Instead, they isolated human glial precursor cells then exposed them to two different signaling molecules, that encouraged the cells to differentiate into BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) or CNTF (ciliary neurotrophic factor). When the scientists transplanted the BMP human astrocytes, they found significant improvement in the injured rat’s movement, measured by their ability to cross a ladder-like track. Davies said, “Clearly, not all human astrocytes are equal when it comes to promoting repair of the central nervous system.” The BMP astrocytes provided the most benefits for protecting injured neurons in the spinal cord.
Jeanette Davies, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and co-lead author of the study explains, “It is estimated that astrocytes make up the vast majority of all cell types in the human brain and spinal cord, and provide multiple different types of support to neurons and other cells of the central nervous system. These multiple functions are likely to all be contributing to the ability of the right human astrocytes to repair the injured spinal cord.”
The study is promising for treating patients with spinal cord injuries. Jason Huang, M.D., associate professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Chief of Neurosurgery at Highland Hospital notes the significant clinical implications of the findings. Modifying human astrocytes that are the major support cells in the central nervous system boosted protection of spinal cord neurons 70 percent compared to using undifferentiated astrocytes, allowing rats with spinal cord injury to regain movement. The next step say the scientists is to test the effect of transplanted astrocytes derived from human stem cells in more complex models of severe early and late spinal cord injury.
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