Restorative effects of human neural stem cell grafts on the primate spinal cord.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 29480894.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/nm.4502 and PMC identifier 5922761.
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Abstract
We grafted human spinal cord-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) into sites of cervical spinal cord injury in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Under three-drug immunosuppression, grafts survived at least 9 months postinjury and expressed both neuronal and glial markers. Monkey axons regenerated into grafts and formed synapses. Hundreds of thousands of human axons extended out from grafts through monkey white matter and synapsed in distal gray matter. Grafts gradually matured over 9 months and improved forelimb function beginning several months after grafting. These findings in a 'preclinical trial' support translation of NPC graft therapy to humans with the objective of reconstituting both a neuronal and glial milieu in the site of spinal cord injury.
Medical subject headings
- Nerve Regeneration
- Neural Stem Cells
- Spinal Cord